City of Canandaigua Council Meeting April 5, 2007

MINUTES OF THE CANANDAIGUA CITY COUNCIL MEETING

THURSDAY, APRIL 5, 2007, 7:00 P.M.

City Council Chambers

City Website: canandaiguanewyork.gov

Mayor Polimeni called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

Pledge of Allegiance

Roll Call: Members present:

Mayor Ellen Polimeni

Councilmember, Ward 1 Travis Nixon

Councilmember, Ward 2 Valentine Fenti

Councilmember, Ward 4 Margery Anthony

Councilmember-at-Large Christine Henehan

Councilmember-at-Large Michael Shipley

Councilmember-at-Large James Terwilliger

Councilmember-at-Large Doug Finch

Members absent:

Councilmember, Ward 3 Richard Russell (Arrived 8:29PM)

Others present:

City Manager Stephen C. Cole
Corporation Counsel Michele O. Smith

Clerk-Treasurer Nancy C. Abdallah

Review Core Values: Councilmember, Ward 4 Anthony read the Community Core Values: As residents, city staff and appointed & elected officials of the City of Canandaigua, our decisions and actions will be guided by these core values: Responsive, Participatory Governance; Caring; Integrity; Heritage; Stewardship; and Continuous Improvement.

Approval of Minutes: Councilmember-at-Large Shipley moved approval of the Council Minutes of March 1, 2007. Councilmember, Ward 2 Fenti seconded the motion.

Vote Result: Carried unanimously.

Recognition of Guests:

·  Mayor Polimeni introduced Philip Anselmo, the Daily Messenger reporter assigned to cover the City of Canandaigua.

·  Carol Shama, Executive Director of Wood Library and a member of the What If All Of Canandaigua Read The Same Book Committee, presented to the Council this year’s Community Read Book, “The Color of Water” by James McBride. Mr. McBride will be speaking at the Canandaigua Academy on April 29th. This will be followed by other speaking engagements and workshops throughout the community.

·  Mark Brown, City Assessor updated the Council on the triennial assessment, which he is in the process of completing for 2007. He explained that the purpose of this reassessment is to keep up with changes in the neighborhoods. Mr. Brown will complete the field review at the end of the month and then send out full disclosure notices to the property owners. Following notification, he will meet with property owners to answer questions. Once the roll is signed off on June 1st, changes can only be made by the Board of Assessment Review, which will meet on June 19th to hear any and all complaints. All exemption applications must be filed by May 1st.

Committee Reports:

Finance: Councilmember-at-Large Terwilliger reported that the Finance Committee met March 22nd and submitted the following report:

  1. 2006 Year-end Report

Clerk/Treasurer Abdallah and Assistant City Manager James reviewed the final 2006 year-end report for the General, Water, and Sewer Funds. The report was very encouraging, showing a favorable revenue and expenditure position (compared to budget) of $905,725, $205,661, and $564,874, respectively. The report included an extensive narrative giving the explanations behind the numbers. Abdallah and James also presented a new, one-page summary document itemizing beginning and end-of-year balances for each of the three funds.

Committee ACCEPTED the report and thanked Abdallah and James for their timeliness and thoroughness.

  1. Purchasing Policy

Discussed the city's purchasing process and practices, particularly for big-ticket items put out for bid. The discussion included the setting of specifications, involving more operations staff in helping to set the specs, and approaches for increasing the likelihood of bids from multiple vendors

Committee AGREED that Council would expect a minimum of two competitive bids for all future projects and CHARGED City Manager Cole with developing and reviewing with Council a more formal, standardized process for bid-related projects.

  1. Grande Meadows East - Proposed Planned Unit Development

Re-reviewed proposed Grande Meadows project proposed by Chrisanntha, Inc. in the Canandaigua Classics area of Ward 1. While the full Council generally views the project favorably, subject to the developer's response to suggestions made at a previous committee meeting, the issue tonight dealt with the developer's request to build the living units as condominiums.

Committee and full Council DECLINED to consider the proposed development as a condominium project, given that increases in city services necessary to support the additional housing would be under-compensated by significant property tax breaks given to condominiums, resulting in shifting a greater tax burden to all other city property owners.

  1. Required Training for Appointed Boards

Reviewed a new NYS requirement that members of local planning commission and ZBA boards must receive a minimum of 4 hours of training per year in order to be eligible for reappointment.

Committee APPROVED 4-0 for Council action an additional stipulation that any training exceeding 4 hours in a given year by a board member cannot be carried forward into a future year or years.

  1. Performance Bonus Program Update

Reviewed final proposals for a 2007 bonus plan for the 3 Water/Sewer supervisors, Public Works Director Loy, and City Manger Cole -- all based on meeting performance goals consistent with the city's strategic plan, and more specifically, with associated tactical goals identified for October 2007 completion.

Committee APPROVED 4-0 for Council action the three plans which include a maximum bonus of $2,000 for each of the three Water/Sewer supervisors, a maximum bonus of $2,500 for the Public Works Director, and a TBD maximum bonus for the City Manager with the stipulation that two additional goals be added to the City Manager's goal matrix: 1) development and implementation of a more formal bid-related purchasing process agreeable to Council, and 2) development and implementation of a more-proactive process for identifying and addressing code violations.

Environmental: Councilmember, Ward 1 Nixon reported the Environmental Committee met on March 20th and submitted the following report:

  1. Two special events were looked at by the Committee. The first was Freeze Fest Polar swim. That’s a YMCA fundraiser and polar swim that was held on March 31st at Kershaw Park. The second was the annual Memorial Day parade. This year the parade will alternate its route and go down West Gibson as opposed to Buffalo Street. The Committee unanimously moved events for recommendation.
  1. City Planner Rick Brown and Kevin Olvany from the Watershed finished their presentation and updates to our storm water ordinance. The City Attorney has now worked out the fine structure, and the Code Enforcement Officer has the ability to issue waivers for disturbances of under an acre. The intent is not to change the way the City conducts business with regards to storm water but to bring us back in line with the newly adopted NY state codes. The Committee unanimously moved the ordinance to Council for adoption.
  1. The Committee and Council members present discussed the Main Street crosswalk at Granger Street. It was decided to keep the Council’s promise to the residents and keep a police officer there in the morning through the rest of the school year. In the mean time we will push for the bigger safety improvements to North Main Street and after the school year ends we will look at removing that crosswalk.
  1. The Committee and Council members present reviewed parking and directional signs for downtown. They gave City Manager the go ahead to get pricing on a final design.
  1. In an effort to improve our leaf collection process and make it safer and cleaner the City Manager presented the Committee and Council members with a leaf vacuum system. This design would be retrofitted to our older recycling truck and allow the leaves to stay on the lawns. Victor has had great success with their two trucks. The Committee and Council members gave the City Manager the go ahead to explore funding options for one system.

Ordinance: Councilmember-at-Large Henehan reported the Ordinance Committee met March 6th and submitted the following report:

  1. We first discussed commercial sign regulations. As there has been quite a bit of confusion and non-compliance with existing regulations, a Sign Review Committee appointed by the BID has been studying the issue. The Ordinance Committee reviewed their recommendations and voted to go ahead with their proposals. Unresolved however, was policy regulating the A-frame signs that are now allowed only within the BID. City Planner Rick Brown will form another group to look at this issue.
  1. The Committee next discussed the awarding of a contract to a fire consultant group whose mission will be to define what the City of Canandaigua Fire Department’s mission, role and structure should be in five years, and what must happen to get there. The list of bidders was narrowed to two, and it was decided that representatives from each be brought in for a final interview.
  1. Our on-going discussion about Municipal Nuisance Law continued. We decided that more input from Code Enforcement about the enforcement of existing ordinances and input from the spring ward meetings was needed before we can formulate any new policy on this matter.

Ordinance: Councilmember-at-Large Henehan reported the Ordinance Committee met April 3rd and submitted the following report:

  1. First on the agenda was continued discussion of the BID Committee’s proposal to amend current laws regulating commercial window signage. The major stumbling block with the proposal appears to be the process of getting existing signage into conformance with any new regulations. As no agreement could be reached, it was decided to put off acting on this until we have the entire package of new commercial sign proposals—ground signs and A-frame signs have yet to be discussed.
  1. Second, it was recommended and decided that the 15 or so buildings in the city that have separate water meters for their fire systems be assessed a $21 per quarter fee to cover city costs for installing and maintaining those meters. This will be a savings for them over what is now charged.
  1. Next we discussed the discovery of several local buildings that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places but have somehow missed having local historic designation. The process will be started to add these properties to our local historic zoning.
  1. Following was a lengthy examination of discrepancies between the projected budget costs versus the actual engineer’s projections for the capital improvement projects that the City had planned to undertake this year. Whether to scale back, eliminate certain items, or go ahead with the entire list will be further discussed after we receive more financial information and possible options. This must be done in the very near future as the bidding season is already underway.
  1. Our final discussion involved a business on West Avenue and the City’s plan to reclaim and plant grass on some of the City’s right-of-way at that location. This discussion will continue after further talks with the business owner.

In short, the meeting left us with unresolved issues and thus lots of work ahead!

Planning: Mayor Polimeni reported the Planning Committee met March 13th and submitted the following report:

1.  Farmers Market Pavilion Design Review

Marty Fredrickson, from Kohlstaedt and Fredrickson Architects presented the market design concept to city council. Marty graciously donated his time and professional skill to designing this very attractive and versatile structure. The structure will be erected at the south end of the Mill Street Parking Lot. It will be 140’x38’, and will accommodate 23 vendor vehicles. When not in use by Farm Market vendors, the structure will serve as covered parking for 23 vehicles. The committee approved the design and directed city staff to move forward with site work and other preparations. The finished design will be turned over for bidding on 4/22. The project completion date is scheduled for this fall. All councilmembers thanked Marty for his contribution of time and talents. Representatives from the Farm Market Organization were also in attendance and expressed their gratitude for moving ahead with the project.

2.  Economic Development Quarterly Report

Economic Development Director, Sal Pietropaolo presented his current status report for city economic development issues. He covered the following topics:

A. Vacant North St manufacturing buildings and efforts to attract tenants

B. New York Main St Grant Program. He is still administering the first round of funding as we apply for a second round.

C. Update on the Labelon Building.

D. Business Retention and Expansion. Artisans Dental Equipment is relocating in the downtown area to expanded offices.

E. Downtown Activity and Occupancy. Currently the downtown retail space is 85-90% occupied.

  1. Paperless Administrative Report

In an effort to streamline the flow of information the city council needs to govern the city, the Planning Committee asked city staff to devise a plan to deliver some of our materials via email. Not only will this plan speed up information flow, it will reduce the need for administrative time to assemble and deliver the “paper information”. This is an on-going project.

4.  Rezoning Request in the Canandaigua Classics neighborhood.

Chris Iverson of Chrisantha Construction presented a plan for a new style of residential development he wishes to build in the northeast portion of the city. His proposal centered on a clustered style of residential structures that currently do not fit city code. He has asked the city to rezone for a more intense residential build-out in exchange for needed street grid completion, water management programs and building design considerations. There followed a lively question and answer session regarding the details. The Planning Committee members asked city staff and Mr. Iverson to prepare answers to some questions and be ready to present those answers at the next Planning Committee meeting.

Youth Committee: Councilmember, Ward 2 Fenti reported that the Youth Committee met March 8th and discussed the following:

  1. Workforce Development Presentation. Terri Trickey described her organization role in helping disadvantaged youth (ages 14-22) obtain jobs. The youth either have to have or are in the process of obtaining a high school degree or equivalent (GED). They have a program where they will to get the youth started in their first job. They are paid Federal minimum wage and workers compensation. Disadvantaged youth is described as coming from working poor families who are in need of alternative education for their high school equivalent diplomas. The goal is to educate the youth so they can obtain employment. Many of her summer applicants come in April and May. They have 90 year round youth enrolled and last year had 75 youth enrolled in the summer program. They had very few problems with “no shows” last summer. The City has indicated they will entertain employment of some summer youth from this program.
  1. Spring Symposium; “What Parents do to keep their Children Safe” set for March 28 at the Middle School Auditorium at 6:30PM Networking/refreshments and Forum at 7 to 8:30PM. (Modified from the committee agreed 9PM with agreement that Cindy Vanderlee will host the event thereby will be available for questions about the School Risk and Protective Factor Survey.) The survey data will not be formally presented at the Forum allowing more time for the other three subjects. Rob Lillis will write an editorial and Andy Thomas will be asked to post information on the School Website and send the notice out to the web email recipients. Ellen will check about taping for FLTV.
  1. Articles for Youth Services Groups; Peter Mulvaney reported by email that he is working on both the Rachel’s Challenge Academy and Salvation Army stories.
  1. CARES, Captain Ginter said the church group is interested. Val will obtain and forward material to him for their use.
  1. Ellen Polimeni reported on a Safe School Hot Line “Break the Silence…Prevent the Event” This is an anonymous system where teens are encouraged to report concerns about potentially dangerous activities they may have heard about. The system has been used effectively to prevent several potential risks in Canandaigua. Officer Delforte has agreed to furnish magnets and pamphlets at our Forum. (They have since been received at City Hall.)
  1. Doug Finch mentioned Brian Kolb offered to help an area youth obtain a position in the DEC Camp this summer. Apparently there is also a similar State Police Camp. There will be more information to follow.
  1. Suggestions for agenda items for future meetings: Those mentioned were, YC recap, Report on parent comments from the Forum, plan and implement a youth service project, plan and implement a youth gathering (Salvation Army has water slides-possible block party?), Zion Community Family event is set for July 21st this year.

Youth Committee: Councilmember, Ward 2 Fenti reported on the Youth Forum held March 28th “How to Keep Your Children Safe”: