Common Council - Regular Meeting

I wish you gave it to me maybe 12 minutes ago.

All right, now we're live. Okay, we're gonna call the order of the Committee of the Whole, August 18th, 2006. It's just a report, that's all. Okay. Okay? Yep. No, not for the- Okay, resolution 2627-34. RESOLUTION ADOPTING EVENT FROM THE LAST COMMON COUNCIL MEETING. ANY QUESTIONS? COMMENTS?

THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

OKAY. RESOLUTION 2627-35, ADOPTION, RESOLUTION ADOPTING EVENT TO THE SPECIAL COMMON COUNCIL MEETING OF AUGUST 2026. ANY COMMENTS? OKAY. RESOLUTION 2627-36, RESOLUTION APPROVED AND RECOMMENDATION FROM THE AMSTERDAM PROPERTY DEFICIT POSITION, OLDMAN D. MARSOP.

YES. THERE ARE TWO BIDS ON THIS PROPERTY, BIGGLE WEAVERS. THIS IS THE PROPERTY RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET FROM BIGGLE WEAVERS. THEY HAVE A PARKING LOT THERE, BUT... YES. THERE'S ONLY ONE BID ON IT.

THERE'S ONLY ONE BID ON IT IN THIS TITLE.

OH, THERE'S ONLY ONE BID? YEAH, ON THIS DECISION. Okay. Thank you. I'm sorry. So if you look at the third warehouse, the city has received a total of one bid. I'm sorry. Thank you, Chief. I'm thinking of the other next to the bike shop. Bigger Weavers Associates, the amount of $2,000. And the Property Disposition Committee recommends that we sell that land to the Bigger Weavers, and they're going to use that property for increased parking for their Okay, thank you very much any questions Okay, the city of Amsterdam and the United Public Service Employees Union have reached a memorandum of agreement

MOA in terms of the new collective bargaining agreement. It's a 3% increase with exception to the plant manager, the deputy controller, and the director of recreation. Those numbers are all in your contracts that you should have in the back of your agenda. So it's giving the mayor permission to enter into that agreement.

The director of recreation is not in Upshoe?

He is. Yes, that's right there.

This is just upshare.

This is a negotiated agreement by upshare. Gotcha. And those increases were negotiated by the collective bargaining agreement.

No, I understand. I just thought when I saw these three pulled out, I thought maybe everybody else was out of the way.

I understand.

Okay.

And Chris, we wanted to add the date to this.

Yes. If you look on the resolution, there's a spot to add a date. INSTEAD OF MAKING AN AMENDMENT, I THINK IF YOU WERE TO CHANGE THE DATE RIGHT THEN, JUST WRITE THE 18TH ON THE RESOLUTION. NEW SPEAKER YES. NEW SPEAKER SO DOWN AT THE BOTTOM NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, JUST WRITE THE 18TH ON THE RESOLVED.

ANY QUESTIONS?

NEW SPEAKER THANK YOU, CHRIS. NEW SPEAKER OKAY. 26-27-38 resolution approved in the audit. The audit should be fine. Any committee reports? We have a consent. Oh, I missed that. No, there is separate on your desk. Oh, sorry. Okay. Consent. 26-27-39.

It's a ceremonial resolution recognizing the 35th anniversary of the Ukrainian Independence Day in the city of Austria. 35 years ago on August 24th, the Parliament of Ukraine formally declared the independence, sovereignty, and democratic union of the Ukrainian state, reestablish the territory, integrity of Ukraine, and sovereign and invaluable. I always said that wrong. further repelled by more than 90% of Ukrainians in the national referendum in December of that same year. We're going to have a presentation with a flag on Monday at noon on the sideline here. That's the one we do every year, honoring the Ukrainian contribution to the United States. Any questions?

That's great. Any committee reports? Any questions?

I DO HAVE A COMMITTEE REPORT. THIS IS GOING TO BE READ TO THE GULF COMMISSION MEETING THAT WE'RE HAVING. JUST FOR AN UPDATE. ACTUAL REVENUE, 2026, 2526, IS INCREASED UP TO $909,000. WE BUDGETED 635,000. SO THERE'S A BIG INCREASE. Okay, now, the reason being Montgomery County veteran contribution, the driving range, anywhere between $50,000 and $20,000 total. That's one of the increases. Now, the actual inter-fund transfer to the balance of the entire budget, including bond refinance, looks like $15,000. So the original budget called for $306,000, so we don't even need the money. That's great. Okay, that's important because the other unit fund transfer that we use, right, Louise?

Yep.

We won't be using it.

It doesn't look likely. And the books are not officially closed yet. There could be some auditor adjustments, but it shouldn't swing things too much. But it's not looking likely right now that they'll leave the general fund support.

And the last thing, the contractual expenses ended up $80,000 less than was budgeted. And those funds were used to secure a $50,000 prior to the end of the year the short-term car pass that we paid back. So we're not going to need that. So it looks good to go, of course. But I think you gave a report, Luis, an American report, right? Last time, we're in the black. So we're picking it back and over. So the start of this new year, we started July, and we're looking good, and it carries over from the 2016. Okay? Fantastic news, Rob. That's great. Who is that letter from? This is from Andrew Robertshaw.

Okay.

He's the treasurer for, he just, I just got it tonight. Right. And because it says, as promised, I'm sending you this week's meeting. I'm not going to be here. I'm on vacation. So I'll not be in attendance. I would like to give our liaison to Bill Dears and Jim Marisol the headlines that we're going to be discussing. So if you want to look it up, discuss it, I'm going to forward it to you. All right. And I would agree to the comment council.

Thank you, Jim. The important thing is that we are now at a point with the golf course moving forward where we can stay in the black. And that's critical. You know, it's always been a Kelly seal. And, you know, with a lot of support from the council, you guys have made a lot of important decisions to help the golf course. But we're at a point now where I think we can stay in the black. So it's good news. That's great. OKAY. THANK YOU, MAYOR. I'M SORRY. THANK YOU.

I'D LIKE TO HAVE THE NEXT SAFE STREETS MEETING SEPTEMBER 15TH AT 5 P.M. PRIOR TO THE CAL. SO EVERYONE WILL BE BACK FROM VACATIONS AND THINGS LIKE THAT. HERE IN THE CHAMBER. TUESDAY THE 15TH, IT'S RIGHT BEFORE THE MEETING. SAME AS THE MEETING NIGHT.

NEW SPEAKER SO WE HAVE ANYONE ELSE? THERE'S A PUBLIC MEETING TODAY AT 5 55. NEW SPEAKER YEAH. NEW SPEAKER YEAH.

We have 10 minutes before the next round.

We do.

So do you want to do this now or do you want to do it when it comes? I think you wanted to discuss updating the PDD. Yeah, we had a meeting on the PDD yesterday, right? Was it yesterday? Just Monday morning. To go over the PDD being the project development project development district, right? Project design for the PDD. It's the CODE THAT IS GOING TO BE UTILIZED TO APPLY TO THE CURY PROJECT. NEW DISTRICT CREATED FOR THE CURY PROJECT. NEW DISTRICT CREATED FOR THE CURY PROJECT. NEW DISTRICT CREATED FOR THE CURY PROJECT. NEW DISTRICT CREATED FOR THE CURY PROJECT. NEW DISTRICT CREATED FOR THE CURY PROJECT.

NEW DISTRICT CREATED FOR THE CURY PROJECT. NEW DISTRICT CREATED FOR THE CURY PROJECT. NEW DISTRICT CREATED FOR THE CURY PROJECT. NEW DISTRICT CREATED FOR THE CURY PROJECT.

NEW DISTRICT CREATED FOR THE CURY PROJECT. NEW DISTRICT CREATED

ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE IDENTIFIED, THOUGH, GOING THROUGH THE CODE, WAS THERE WAS A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT SECTIONS UNDER CHAPTER 250 OF THE CITY CODE, ONE PERTAINING TO DENSITY AS COMPARED WITH THE PRIOR RESIDENTIAL DISTRICT REQUIREMENTS, AND THE SECOND PROVISION HAD TO DO WITH THERE BEING 35% OF PUBLIC USABLE SPACE AND IN RESEARCHING THE STATE LAWS, THERE'S NO STATE LAW COMPONENT REQUIREMENT THAT REQUIRES ANY SUCH ANALYSIS, AND IT APPEARS TO BE AN ARBITRARY THRESHOLD THAT WAS SET WAY BACK WHEN, AND SOME THOUGHTS HAVE BEEN GIVEN TO INTRODUCING LEGISLATION TO MODIFY THESE TWO SECTIONS OF THE GOAL TO LESSEN THE BURDENS IN TERMS OF TRYING TO COMPLETE A PDD APPLICATION SUCH AS THIS. I DON'T THINK THAT IT WOULD NECESSARILY BE PROHIBITIVE, BUT FROM THE POINT OF VIEW THAT I THINK THAT THE COUNCIL IS SUPPORTIVE OF THIS PROSPECTIVE PDD THAT WE'RE ANTICIPATING, I WOULD SAY THAT THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO MODIFY THE CODE TO MAKE IT SOMEWHAT EASIER. THAT IS TO SAY LESSEN THE RED TAPE WHILE STILL INSTILLING ALL OF THE AUTHORITY IN THE PLANNING COMMISSION FOR SITE PLAN APPROVAL. THEY STILL HAVE TO ALL THE PRICTERIA FOR THE PLANNING COMMISSION TO HAVE SITE PLAN APPROVAL. WE'RE JUST ELIMINATING 120% DENSITY ISSUE AND THE 35% OPEN SPACES.

And if I could just go a little bit further, for example, and there has been no final plan submitted by the developer, but in a preliminary plan, it shows single family homes with a 15 foot distance between the front door to the curb. And in a single family, low density code of our city, it requires a 30 foot, a 30 foot distance from front door to the curb. But since this is a field, a blank, like a canvas, like an artist's canvas. He's designing a project to go in there. All of the homes are going to be the same distance. It's not going to be a case where we're putting a project in an area where there are homes that are in single family density. So it gives him the flexibility he needs to design his project the way he would like to design it. That project still has to go through planning process and the planning approval and the public hearings but it gives him the freedom that a PDD does give a developer I think it's only in our city our local code right there's no there's no nothing like this in state requirement so like in their development in Boston Lake they have believe it or not it's about 15 feet and it works for them and it's if you've ever been over there I mean those that's a really really beautiful Right, and that's the thing. It's being planned as a project that's going to work together, that's going to look good, that's going to be, you know, that's what we're talking about. And we're meeting with the developer on Friday. He's looking at it to see if it isn't going to impact him. So we'll see what happens on Friday. But we will be coming back to the council should we want to make a change with a request for a special meeting TO INTRODUCE THAT, RIGHT?

YEAH. IF I CAN POLISH THOSE STATEMENTS OVER TO FINE-TUNE MY THOUGHTS ON THOSE STATEMENTS A LITTLE BIT. I THINK THAT FROM MY UNDERSTANDING IS THAT THE KNOX TEAM'S GOING TO BE MEETING WITH US TO AMONG THE THINGS THAT WE'RE GOING TO BE SEEING IS WHAT POTENTIAL WORKAROUNDS THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE TO WORK WITHIN THE PARAMETERS OF THE CODE AS IT EXISTS. Notwithstanding that sentiment, to be clear, my recommendation is that we remove these two provisions from the code because I simply think that it just presents barriers that are unnecessary. And I think that having site plan approval rest with the Planning Commission sufficiently safeguards CURRENT OWNERS OF THE PROPERTY, AND IT ALSO DOES NOT PRESENT BARRIERS TO DEVELOPMENT SUCH AS THE FINALIZATION OF THIS PROSPECTIVE EDD. HOW'S THAT? NEW SPEAKER I UNDERSTOOD IT.

NEW SPEAKER ARE WE TALKING ABOUT SETBACKS FROM THE STREET?

NEW SPEAKER THAT'S AMONG THE ISSUES.

I WOULD IMAGINE THERE'S A CERTAIN SETBACK THAT WE WOULD WANT AS A STANDARD THAT WE WOULDN'T WANT REMOVED.

NEW SPEAKER SO IT WOULD BE PART OF THE CYCLE. WHAT I'M ENVISIONING IS IF THE CODE WERE MODIFIED AS I'M SUGGESTING AND ADVISING THAT WE MODIFY IT, THEN THOSE PARAMETERS WOULD BE FOR CONSIDERATION BY THE PLANNING COMMISSION AND GRANT AND CYCLE.

NEW SPEAKER HOW DO WE FEEL ABOUT THAT FROM A PUBLIC SAFETY PERSPECTIVE?

so the thing is the way the code's written because i was in the meeting yesterday and the engineering night spoke about it today and grant and i spoke about it today it cashed it at 120 of whatever the prior whatever it was previously zoned as but if you're rezoning it putting that limitation there is difficult so in this it's looking at and what they're using is units per acre well in the city we don't have a units per acre rule we have setbacks 15 feet setback or 30 foot seven So to take the acreage and then apply the setbacks in all the different ways is a ton of math, and it doesn't really make a lot of sense. And if you're already giving the approval for a project through the planning and through the council, it doesn't make sense to put those constraints on.

And it was something that was in there from one time when we were trying to look back into the history of it.

But it makes it very more difficult. We just don't have a number of, we'll say, units per acre.

But a setback would exist if we were building on an empty lot on Division Street. Right. they would still have to be set back to the area where the other homes are. We still have setbacks in the city.

Yeah, okay, but since this is a brand new neighborhood and everything will match up, he's not going to make it zigzag. If you look at the rendering that we had previously gotten, the only thing that is moderately close to Widow Susan is that community area, that big building. The rest of it is, you know, it's off the road. It goes into the development. And so I don't see it as a massive issue because there's never been any homes there. So it's really just a blank canvas. So it's giving you the freedom to do this.

I just don't want to make any changes that would affect future. I don't want to make specific changes to the code for this project that could affect, like, future projects or take away safety. Yeah, that is an concern. That's just what I was thinking.

I understand that these provisions would apply only to PDD applications. Okay, would you be in favor of that?

Each PDD stands on its own, right? A local law would look at specific in the PDD, not overall.

Okay, thank you for that clarification.

Correct. The last piece of this, please, is that in terms of the overall planning process, and I don't I WANT TO GO THROUGH THE WHOLE COMPLICATED PROCESS HERE TONIGHT. BUT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT THE APPLICANT NEEDS TO DO IS THEY HAVE TO HAVE CERTAIN FILINGS WITH THE PLANNING COMMISSION 10 DAYS PRIOR TO A REGULAR MEETING OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING. AND THEY MEET ON THE FOURTH WEDNESDAY OF EACH MONTH. SO ALL THAT BEING SAID, MY THOUGHT HERE IS THAT IF WE'RE GOING TO BE MODIFYING THE CODE IN THE TWO WAYS THAT I AM SUGGESTING THAT WE DO AND THAT WE WANT TO DO THIS IN A TIME FRAME SO THAT IT'S COMPLETED PRIOR TO THE FILING OF THIS PROSPECTIVE APPLICATION THAT WE KNOW IS COMING DOWN THE PIPELINE, WE MAY VERY WELL HAVE TO DO A SPECIAL MEETING BECAUSE IN ORDER TO, I THINK THAT WITH 10 DAYS, FOR THEM IS GOING TO BE ON MONDAY, THE 14th. AND I THINK TO BE SAFE, THEY SHOULD HAVE IT FILED BY 11. SO THE LEGISLATION IS A WORK IN PROGRESS. I HAVEN'T FINISHED IT YET. I JUST STARTED WORKING ON IT THIS MORNING. BUT I THINK THAT WHAT WE SHOULD TRY TO DO IS GET A CONSENSUS AS TO WHEN FOLKS MAY BE AVAILABLE FOR A SPECIAL MEETING, AND AT THAT SPECIAL MEETING, IT WOULD BE SIMPLY THE INTRODUCTION OF AN ORDINANCE AND THE SCHEDULING OF A PUBLIC HEARING.

NEW SPEAKER OKAY. SO WHAT DAYS ARE WE LOOKING AT?

NEW SPEAKER I THINK YOU'RE LOOKING AT SOMETHING LIKE THE EARLY PART OF NEXT WEEK. NEW SPEAKER WEDNESDAY? NEW SPEAKER I WOULD SAY EARLIER THE BETTER IN THE I can be free any of those days.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.

Whatever works for you folks.

Those three days are fine for me. And early in the morning is better.

9 a.m. okay?

Yeah, that works for me.

Yeah, I can typically do 9 a.m.s.

Do you mean 9 a.m. is good?

Fine.

You okay?

Yeah, let's do it.

Okay. What day? Wednesday?

Wednesday? Can we do Monday?

Sure. Yes. I'll finalize. I travel on Wednesdays a lot, so I don't need to be here. You guys go ahead and do Wednesdays. So let's have a mindset here that I'm going to finalize this tonight. I'll circulate it to make sure that everybody's on board. I need one of you to volunteer to be a sponsor. Who wants to be a sponsor? Chris, you'll be a sponsor. And then once, assuming that, let's assume that one way or another we get to the finality of being okay with the draft of the legislation, I'll submit it to Stacey, and then we'll schedule the, put the announcement out for the special meeting. Thank you.

Stacey, is that enough time? I have to have it 72 hours ahead of time, so can you get it to me, because I have to submit it.

So we're going to call our public hearing into session. Public hearing is to provide information concerning the scope of the CDBG project, expected funding amounts and eligible activities and allow citizens to make comments or submit alternate proposals. This is with regards to a cleanup project on 24 Willow Street, if everybody remembers, a few years back. Was it last year? Last year. The building collapsed. We had a large building, which was in partial collapse. We had to knock it down. We looked all over for aid, couldn't get any. We have left it in a pile of bricks. And that property sits right alongside the creek. And chicken under the creek, which we all know is a very valuable resource for our city, and it's in danger of falling into the creek, as well as we do not know exactly what we're picking up, what has fallen underneath those bricks. So we need to get it out of there. Secondly, that property is in an area where we have interest in a development and need for parking space in that area. So we've decided that it would be a wonderful way to, a good project for CDBG. to apply for money for that, and that's what this public hearing is about. So if there's anybody here to talk about that, you can do so now. Doesn't look like there is, so we're gonna close the public hearing. Very good. And we have exactly two or three minutes to go. What do we wanna talk about next?

The other part of our meeting? The other part of our meeting yesterday?

Bess? Bess. Yeah, so I circulated an email this morning to the members of the council YOU ALL SAW IT, THAT OUR AD HOC COMMITTEE MEETING TOOK PLACE YESTERDAY TO FORMULATE RECOMMENDATIONS TO MAKE TO THE COMMON COUNCIL REGARDING THE MORATORIUM. IN SUBSTANCE, TWO RECOMMENDATIONS HAVE BEEN MADE BY THE COMMITTEE AS IT PERTAINS TO THE BEST COMPONENT OF THE MORATORIUM. The recommendation from the committee to the council is for the city to enact legislation citywide prohibiting best storage facilities, energy facilities within the city. And with respect to the component of the moratorium dealing with solar, the recommendation is that the moratorium be ended without modification to the code. and thereby upon the termination or expiration of the moratorium which I should have it first, the provisions regarding solar as set forth in Chapter 250 of the code would be reactive for lack of a better term.

Questions? I just want to thank the Mayor, Anthony, Mike, Chief Agresta, and Grant Adelson FOR MAKING SURE THAT IT WASN'T A ONE-SIDED CONVERSATION. THE MAYOR MADE SURE DURING THE MEETING THAT WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE PROS AND CONS THAT YOU'RE REALLY DEALING WITH THE FACTS AND YOU'RE LOOKING AT GOOD AND BAD, YOU'RE NOT JUST STICKING TO ONE SIDE OF THE CONVERSATION. SO THANK YOU VERY MUCH, MAYOR.

WOULD NEED TO DRAFT LEGISLATION REGARDING THE CITYWIDE PROHIBITION ON BESS. I'M GOING TO NEED A LITTLE BIT OF TIME TO DO THAT. I WANT TO SAY TO YOU THAT WE'LL HAVE THAT READY FOR INTRODUCTION AT THE SEPTEMBER 1ST MEETING, BUT I CAN'T PROMISE YOU THAT I'LL HAVE IT READY AT THAT FIRST MEETING IN SEPTEMBER. IF I DON'T HAVE IT READY AT THE SEPTEMBER 1ST MEETING, I'LL HAVE IT READY FOR INTRODUCTION AT THE SECOND MEETING. MORATORIUM IS SET TO EXPIRE IN JANUARY, IF WE CAN ANTICIPATE THE MORATORIUM BEING TERMINATED RATHER THAN EXPIRING. BUT WE NEED TO HAVE OUR LEGISLATION FINALIZED IN PLACE REGARDING FESTS WITH THAT BEING PASSED PRIOR TO THE TERMINATION OF THE MORATORIUM, WHICH COULD BE DONE AT THE SAME MEETING. NEW SPEAKER THANK YOU, CHAIR. LET'S CALL A MEETING TO ORDER. NEW SPEAKER THANK YOU, CHAIR. NEW SPEAKER THANK YOU, CHAIR. NEW SPEAKER THANK YOU, CHAIR. NEW SPEAKER THANK YOU, CHAIR. NEW SPEAKER THANK YOU, CHAIR. NEW SPEAKER THANK YOU, CHAIR. NEW SPEAKER THANK YOU, CHAIR. NEW SPEAKER THANK YOU, CHAIR. NEW SPEAKER THANK YOU, CHAIR.

NEW SPEAKER THANK YOU, CHAIR. NEW SPEAKER THANK YOU, CHAIR. NEW SPEAKER THANK YOU, CHAIR. NEW SPEAKER THANK YOU, CHAIR.

NEW SPEAKER THANK YOU, CHAIR.

NEW SPEAKER THANK YOU, CHAIR. NEW SPEAKER THANK YOU

ALDER WOMAN CLISTIMARS. HERE. ALDERMAN HOLIDAY.

HERE.

ALDER WOMAN COLLINS. HERE. ALDERMAN CARPENTER. HERE. ALDERMAN MARTICELLO.

HERE. MOTION TO ADJUST. MOTION TO ADJUST.

5 RESOLUTIONS AND 1 CONCEPT.

ALDER WOMAN COLLINS. AYE. ALDERMAN CARPENTER. AYE. ALDERMAN MARTICELLO. AYE. ALDER WOMAN CLISTIMARS. AYE. ALDERMAN HOLIDAY.

AYE. And I do have a proclamation for this evening. When on June 8th of 2026, pre-enrollment at the city of Amsterdam summer camp program number just three, doubts about this long established program sustainability were a natural consequence. Our city initiated a frantic public appeal for camper registrants, but what turned the tide was a concern of an individual who recognize the quality of life benefits of a well-run summer camp program, not only for the youth of Amsterdam, but also for their parents. His generous donation to be used to help defray the tuition costs for children whose parents might have been struggling to afford the tuition certainly helped attract the influx of additional students necessary to maintain the camp's fiscal stability. For caring that much for the community, he serves as publisher and owner of the Gazette News Group. Amsterdam salutes John D'Augustine. Thank you, John. And we're now at the communications and presentations.

And is there anyone who wishes to say something?

You sure? Okay. So we're into the clerkship work.

So these numbers are a reflection of what our office did in the month of July. We printed 143 birth certificates, which were 41 less than last year. 103 death certificates, which were 46 more than 2025. Dog licenses, we had 75 of those, which were two less than 2025. And marriage certificates, we printed 21, which was six less than 2025. We had 37 new births in the city in the month of July. There were 18 deaths. Nine of the 75 dog licenses that we printed were new. And there were 12 couples that came in to get their marriage license. We processed 92 foils in our office. 14 of those were accident reports. 56 were police incident reports. 21 were property inquiries. And one was a miscellaneous item that somebody asked for. I notarized 99, or sorry, 99, 29. It felt like 99, I think. Notary requests, and then there were 38 handicap placards that we handed out. 35 of those were permanent and three were temporary. July was our highest month for marriage licenses this year. And then on July 1st, we went live with increasing the rates for dog licenses. So it's now $20 for an unaltered dog and $12 for an altered dog. And I sent out an email to everybody earlier this month that New York State is requiring us to have an option for residents to donate to the Montgomery County SPCA. So those are active. Those are out there now.

um the accident that we had that knocked our power out on church street where we knocked over i just want to clarify that was a uh that would be covered the maintenance i'm sorry to repair that whole mic and was there a street light involved and are we i don't know actually it'll be an insurance plan well there'll certainly be an insurance plan

one of our poles, although we don't own, we own the aluminum poles.

We generally don't own the aluminum poles. But if there's a light attached, they come and they replace that and all that? Yeah. All right. Just wanted to thank you. Thank you, Stacey. You're welcome. Next up is the controller's report.

Please. I passed out a report that summarizes the first month of activity in our current budget year. Nothing very surprising or unusual. I just want to mention that I did add for the new year, I added the total budget to the top of the report, and I will continue to keep the fund balances at the bottom of the report, although I just want to caution everyone that these are over a year old now. I won't be able to update them until our audit for 25-26 is complete, and that will be many months out. So just be cautious. We refer to those numbers. And our contingencies, I'm going to just mention that we have already had about 60,000 that we've needed to use out of the general fund. I do expect our contingencies to take a big hit early on this year because of all the union contracts that we're settling. There'll be a lot of retro pay coming out of those amounts, so they will go down faster than in previous years. And the other thing that I just wanted to mention was that we are two months into our current redemption period for the foreclosure proceeding that is underway, and we Started out with about 110 properties and we're down to like mid-70s, you know, with four months to go. So I'm really hoping that those numbers continue, that number continues to come down.

Great. Anybody have any questions for the governor? Okay. Thank you. Engineers report. Michael? Michael?

SO AS EVERYONE SHOULD BE AWARE, WE'VE AWARDED A CONTRACT FOR THE DOLLAR COURSE CART PATH EVENING LAST WEEK. I HAVE A PREDISCUSSION MEETING SCHEDULED FOR NEXT TUESDAY, THE 25TH, AND I EXPECT THAT THEY'LL START SHORTLY AFTER NEIGHBOR DAY. THAT'S THE CURRENT SCHEDULE I HAVE. I'LL CONFIRM THAT NEXT WEEK. 31st. Street paving program, milling is scheduled Thursday and Friday and more milling next week and paving as well for the next couple of weeks. Henrietta sewer improvements, it's in service. Restoring pavement now or will be Shortly, if you recall, that was a condition of the inter-municipal agreement and a requirement from New York State DEC. I expect that we will be advertising for bids by the end of the month for the wastewater treatment plant project. We have a site visit with DEC next week. AS SOON AS THAT'S DONE I I EXPECT THAT THE PROJECTS WILL BE ADVERTISED DOWN THE STREET AND IT'S GOING TO BE A COUPLE MONTH BIT PERIOD MOST LIKELY AND LASTLY UM WE'VE UH THE PLANT SERVICELINE PROJECT THAT'S FUNDED THE UH ACTUALLY I BELIEVE THAT'S THROUGH ACR BUT UH IT'S ADVERTISED FOR BIDS UM AND I DON'T REMEMBER WHAT THE OPENING DATE IS I THINK IT'S And of course, always happy to take questions.

I have a question.

Sure.

So the wastewater upgrade, for that design, did it take into consideration or any consideration to the new projects that are happening in the town?

Absolutely. And the city. The projects in the town are about 8% of our capacity, even with a new allocation of 750,000 gallons a day. Currently, our plant and the new plant will be able to retreat under dry weather conditions at least 13 million gallons a day. So I won't say it's a drop in the bucket, but it's a small percentage. And I'm quite sure that once we test the new plant, So, yeah, we have good capacity now. We're going to have more once this is done. Thank you.

It's been a long time. Any questions? Any more questions for Mike D'Angelo? Thank you. Thanks, Mike.

So now we are open to questions. We're going to let it

Resolution number 2627-34, resolution adopting minutes from last Common Council meeting by Alderwoman Collins. So moved. Call the roll. Alderwoman Collins. Aye. Alderman Carpenter. Aye. Alderman Marticello. Aye. Alderwoman Quistomars. Aye. Alderman Holliday. Aye. Resolution number 2627-35, resolution adopting minutes from special Common Council meeting by Alderwoman Collins. So moved. Any questions? Call the roll. Alderwoman Collins. Aye. Alderman Carpenter. Aye. Alderman Marticello. Aye. Alderwoman Quistamart. Aye. Alderman Holliday. Aye. Resolution number 2627-36. Resolution approving recommendation from the Amsterdam Property Disposition Committee and authorizing the sale of parcel by Alderman Marticello.

And you can please read the third word as well.

Whereas the city having received a total of one bid from Bigelow Weavers Association Inc. in the amount of $2,000 and the PDC having recommended sale of said parcel to Bigelow Weavers Association Inc. for $2,000. So moved. Discussion?

Call the roll, please.

Alderman Marticello. Aye. Alderwoman Quistamars. Aye. Alderman Holiday. Aye. Alderwoman Collins. Aye. Alderman Carpenter. Aye. Resolution number 2627-37, resolution approving a memorandum of agreement between the City of Amsterdam and the United Public Service Employees Union by Alderman Carpenter. Whereas the City of Amsterdam, herein after City, and United Public Service Employees Union, herein after UPSHU or Union, are parties to a collective bargaining agreement herein after CBA, which expired June 30th, 2025. and whereas the terms and conditions in the CBA continue in accordance with applicable law, and whereas the city and Upshoe have been engaged in negotiations for a successor CBA, and whereas the parties have reached an agreement which the union membership has ratified, and whereas the mayor recommends approval of the agreement by the Amsterdam Common Council. Now, therefore, be it resolved that the memorandum of agreement dated August 18th, 2026, BETWEEN THE CITY OF AMSTERDAM AND UPSHOO IS LEGISLATIVELY APPROVED BY THE AMSTERDAM COMMON COUNCIL AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT THE MAYOR IS AUTHORIZED TO EXECUTE A CBA INCORPORATING THE PROVISIONS OF THE MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT IN A FORM ACCEPTABLE TO THE COUNCIL TO THE CITY SO MOVED ANY DISCUSSION CALL THE ROLL ALDERMAN CARPENTER AYE ALDERMAN MARTICELLO AYE ALDERWOMAN CUESTIMARS AYE ALDERMAN HOLIDAY AYE ALDERWOMAN COLLINS AYE RESOLUTION NUMBER 2627-38, RESOLUTION APPROVING AUDIT BY ALDERWOMAN COLLINS. ANY QUESTIONS? ALDERWOMAN? ALDERWOMAN COLLINS. AYE. ALDERMAN CARPENTER. AYE. ALDERMAN MARTISEllo.

AYE.

ALDERWOMAN CUESTIMARS. AYE. ALDERMAN HOLIDAY.

AYE.

Resolution number 2627-39 consent ceremonial resolution recognizing the 35th anniversary of the Ukrainian Independence Day in the city of Amsterdam by Alderman Carpenter. Whereas 35 years ago on August 24, 1991, the Parliament of Ukraine formally declared an independent, sovereign, and democratic Ukraine state, reestablishing the territorial integrity of Ukraine as sovereign and inviolable, further upheld by more than 90% of Ukrainians in a national referendum in December of that same year. And whereas Ukrainian Americans continue to make significant contributions to the cultural fabric of the United States while never forgetting about their rich history and heritage, more than 150 years since first immigrating to this great nation, with which they share a collective U.S.-Ukrainian values of freedom, democracy, and the rule of law. And whereas Ukraine has always had a special bond with the United States, with Ukraine sending 44,000 servicemen and servicewomen to serve alongside U.S. forces on NATO deployments, in theaters such as Afghanistan and Iraq throughout a three-year, I'm sorry, a three-decade relationship. And whereas the territorial integrity of Ukraine is sovereign and invaluable, and portions of Ukraine's territory are currently under foreign military occupation, we honor the efforts and sacrifices of the armed forces and territorial defense forces of Ukraine in their heroic defense of our United States allies and the entire European continent against further aggressive actions by our mutual enemies. And whereas, since the invasion of Ukraine began in 2014, the United States and its allies have helped train and equip Ukraine's armed forces, we honor the men and women of the United States Armed Forces providing the materials and training to further the development and increase the overall readiness of Ukraine's armed forces, as well as the people of the United States for providing the necessary materials for Ukraine while her people stand on the front lines of democracy. And whereas the people of the United States, including those here in the city of Amsterdam, New York, have opened their hearts and homes to Ukrainians displaced by the war in their homeland, and have personally donated time and resources to humanitarian relief efforts for the victims of this invasion, we honor the American spirit of generosity as an essential part of what makes us an exceptional nation. And whereas 116 years ago, a small group of Ukrainian-Americans immigrants cemented and centered their community here in Amsterdam in 1910 by establishing the St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Church. And now, be it hereby resolved, the Common Council of the City of Amsterdam, New York, hereby proclaims August 24th, 2026 as the 35th anniversary of Ukrainian Independence Day in the city of Amsterdam and request all citizens to join in commemorating this important anniversary. On this day, let us recommit ourselves to helping the Ukrainian nation reclaim full sovereignty over its international borders and remember its heroes who sacrificed their lives to ensure freedom and happiness for future generations. And be it further resolved in recognition of celebration of this anniversary on Monday, August 24th, 2026, At 12 p.m., the Ukrainian flag shall be raised at the ceremonial flagpole at City Hall and shall be displayed for a period of two weeks.

So moved. Any questions? Thank you very much, Stacey. You've all repressed this now.

Alderman Carpenter. Aye. Alderman Marcello. Aye. Alderman Quistomars. Aye. Alderman Holliday. Aye. Alderman Collins. Aye.

That's all we have. Is there anything else?

Could we go back to the best discussion for a moment? Just the first piece where we are recommending or the group is recommending the ban. Can you just elaborate on what considerations went into that recommendation? Just so we can have some background on that.

Well, the bottom line was we looked at what the benefits to the city were. and we looked at what the risks of a facility such as that represented to the city. And it was the consensus of the committee that the risks outweigh the benefits. There's no jobs. There's just property tax revenue. And in this case, even the siting of it was just too close to a neighborhood. But we had The codes, police, everybody, the engineer, everybody talked about the benefits versus the risks and came to the opinion that the risks outweigh the benefits. The risks were primarily safety and... Well, it's lack of...

If I could... If I might. Sure. If I were to try to condense it into a sentence, I would say that the concern centered around fire safety and decommissioning. One of the issues that came up. Okay, yes, those are specific.

So decommissioning, so once it's finished, what happens to it?

And concerns about all things in that realm were discussed in, I think, accurately saying were in support of both the sentiment to have it be prohibited citywide.

And a benefit would really, only benefits found would be the tax revenue, which can be found other ways?

I don't, I mean, I don't know that it's fair to say that the benefits of tax revenue were discussed at any elaborate length. I think rather the prevailing sentiment was regarding the concern regarding the fire safety.

Did not watch on the benefit side? What's that? The property was in the town or in the city. I thought it was an induction apartment.

We're not talking about a specific property. We just, you know, we look at... Oh, okay. In general. Okay. In general. Great.

Jim? Does that sound right? Yeah. I thought I said it in a nutshell. It's okay. Okay.

Motion to end that session.

Alderwoman Collins. Aye. Alderman Carpenter. Aye. Alderman Marticello.

Aye.

Alderman Questa-Mars. Aye. Alderman Holliday.

Aye.