Workshop Minutes
City of
WORKSHOP
The City of
In attendance were:
Mayor Clara Lou Gould
Council Members Present: Charles Kelly, Phil Shea, and Steve Gold
Excused: Lee Kyriacou, Elizabeth Foster and Eleanor
Thompson
Also in attendance were: City
Administrator, Joseph Braun and City Attorney Gerard Pisanelli
Agenda
University
Settlement
Motion to
enter Executive Session: at
Motion to
End Executive Session: at:
Recreation Department
- Julann Cobb Multiple Use
Discounts for Parks and Pools. - See Memo from Julann Cobb dated
The following is a memo from Julann
Cobb, Recreation Department dated
A request for
a park permit that covers several consecutive days has been made where the question of
allowing multi-use discounts was raised. We do not currently have a policy in
place regarding multi-use discounts. In
comparison, the
I'm
requesting the City Council's consideration of allowing a 50% discount for 5 or
more consecutive
uses with the exclusion of Saturday or Sunday, prepaid and with no refunds
unless we are able to re-book the site.
Additionally, multi-use discounts will
come up concerning the University Settlement Pool. Again, the school
district applies the same multi-use discount (above) to their pool facility. It
is important to note that the pool's average
operating cost per usable hour is $99.80 ($63.73 for staff {a variable
cost} and $36.07 for facility {a fixed cost}). In terms of group use, at the
for-profit rate of $150/hour, offering a multi-use discount does not increase
our expense but will decrease our
potential revenue. It's possible for us to offer a discount, but not advisable
to the extent where the user is paying less than the actual operating
cost, which would be the case if we offer a 50% discount as the school, does. The school can offer the 50% discount
because they have more operating hours and can spread out the effect of the
discount over a longer period of time, which is something that we can't do with
an outdoor facility. While a 33% discount of the for-profit user is the
maximum we can offer before the expense of the use exceeds the revenue, I do recommend that we extend some type of discount
for multi-use both as an incentive to book the pool and with an eye to generating goodwill with next year's
potential customers. I'm requesting
that the City Council review the matter of offering multi-use discounts to
for-profit pool users and determine an appropriate amount, if any.
In terms of discounts to
non-profits, the proposed fee of $75/hour covers the cost of staffing with a nominal amount left to apply towards the
facility expense. The non-profit rate is currently below the average hourly operating
cost of $99.80. Extending further discounts means that we are in essence
subsidizing the cost of a private, though non-profit, entity using the pool.
The determination to do so is a matter for City Council to decide, and I am
requesting that the
Council states their position on
the matter of extending further discounts to non-profit entities and clearly
defines the terms of such discounts if any. That includes any agreement to
change from the proposed budget how we
generate revenue from the pool.
For example,
in the past some non-profit entities had access to the pool at the rate of $1
per child.
Beacon Recreation Summer Playground Program, BCC and MLK had private group swim
sessions at that rate, and this past year
Alpha & Omega was offered the same rate if they shared their time with MLK.
At those rates, the expense to the city for those private group swims exceeded
the amount of money collected since the groups were generally less than 75
children per session (with the exception of Beacon Rec).
To meet the non-profit rate of $75/hr, the per child
cost to use the pool is increased:
|
Entity |
Projected # Children/Session |
Cost per Child |
|
MLK |
45 |
3.33 |
|
BCC |
60 |
2.50 |
|
Alpha&Omega |
50 |
3.00 |
|
Beacon Rec* |
130 |
1.15 |
Note: Pool Capacity
is 225
*Cost per child for Beacon Rec
Summer Program is not seriously affected due to the number of participants and
can afford private group sessions.
In drafting a
schedule of group pool use, I determined that there are 15 group sessions
available Monday through Friday. When I spoke with each of these groups, the
requests totaled 10 of the available 15 group sessions, leaving only 5 sessions
available for potential revenue, not adjusting for loss of time due to
inclement weather.
While I can offer each group a
private group session at the non-profit rate if they choose to do so, the best way for these entities to reduce their
per-child expense is to use the pool together. This will also increase the
number of sessions available for generating revenue, and help us meet our expenses
for operating the pool.
I propose
that I offer one session per day - or contingent upon enough participation to
meet the expenses - that is available for non-profit entities to use the
pool at the rate of $2 per child. If an agency chooses to have private group
time beyond that, they may do so at the hourly non-profit rate.
I am also
asking the City Council to make a recommendation of the number of non-profit
sessions I should make available for reservations at this time. The only
revenue over cost that we are projected to receive would be via the fees collected
by profit entities for group use, and it is
this revenue that will help defray the overall operating expenses. I am
concerned that overbooking by
non-profits will result in loosing potential revenue. It may be in the City's
best interest to reserve a certain number of the available sessions for
profit entities until a later date in an
attempt to draw the higher rate. (For example, reserve 5
sessions/wk for profit entities until June 1, then opens those spaces to
non-profit entities).
Water
Quality Improvements
- Bond Resolution for $240,000.
Bond Issue for Match
Will be added
to Agenda for
Promoting Beacon - (If
information available)
Referencing CGI Agreement
and Videotaping Company. BBA and BACA to be asked to comment on this, other cities to be
checked. Also to be checked
capability of BHS Students to d the video interviews as part of their training.
No information at this time -
Mayor
Gould: Said that she received a call from a radio
station that wants to do the same thing.
Council
Member Gold: I have news, when you click on the link then
you will see Welcome, Education, Recreation, Real Estate, Health Care, Tourism
or anything you want. The only downside
is that it has advertisement. This will
do the presentation for us. I have an
idea that will counter that. I think the
way that works is fine. I have not heard
anything negative from anyone. I am in
favor of it. I just want to mention that
I had this idea of taking the homepage of the website and making it into
postage size squares that you can click on to get to various departments. If there were any money to be made, it would
be better if the money can come to the city.
The only thing is that we would need management. I don't know if I will be able to put the
time in that it needs. It is possible
that this would be a nice revenue source for the city. We do not have to go forward with the company
that was first mentioned.
Council
Member Kelly: Is there any legal implication? I thought the state had to pass that law.
We will check into this further.
Vacant
Buildings - Tim Dexter working
on. The following is a draft that was
distributed to all members of the Council.
DRAFT
§ 92-1. Findings
and purpose:
Vacant and derelict buildings and
structures are hereby found to be a danger to the public health, safety and
welfare. As they deteriorate, vacant buildings constitute a danger to the
public safety, become a dumping
ground for trash, rubbish and debris, a breeding ground for vermin and a
gathering place for persons engaging in illegal activity. The purpose of this
chapter is to establish a program for identifying and registering vacant
buildings; to determine the responsibilities of owners of
vacant buildings and structures; and to speed the rehabilitation of vacant
properties.
§ 92-2. Definitions.
As used in this chapter, the following
terms shall have the meanings indicated:
ENFORCEMENT OFFICER A duly authorized representative of
the Building Department.
OWNER Those shown to be the owner or owners on the records of the City of
Beacon Assessor's Office, those identified as the owner or owners on a vacant
building registration form, a mortgagee in possession, a mortgagor in
possession, assignee of rents, receiver, executor, trustee, lessee, other person,
firm or corporation in control of the premises. Any such person shall have a joint and severable obligation
for compliance with the provisions of this chapter.
SECURED OTHER THAN
BY NORMAL MEANS A building
secured by means other than those used in the design of the building.
UNOCCUPIED A building which is not being used for an occupancy authorized by the
owner.
UNSECURED A building or portion of a building, which is open to entry
by unauthorized persons without the use of
tools or ladders.
VACANT BUILDING A building, which is:
A. Unoccupied and unsecured; or
B. Unoccupied and secured other than by normal means;
or
C. Unoccupied and determined to be unsafe by the
Building Department; or
D. 2 or more violations of the City Code or State
Building Code Series; or
E. Illegally occupied; or
F. Unoccupied
for a period of time in excess of 180 days, and during which time one or more
violations have been issued by the Office of
Code Compliance.
§ 92-3. Responsibility of owner.
A.
The owner of every vacant building within the limits of the City shall,
within 60 days of the effective date of this chapter and thereafter within 30
days of the building becoming vacant, file
with the Building Department of the City of
(1) The name, mailing
address, physical address, e-mail address, and telephone number of the owner.
(2) If the owner is not a resident of the City of Beacon or the adjoining
Towns of Fishkill, then said owner must designate a managing agent who resides
in or maintains a business office within the City of Beacon or the adjoining Towns
of Fishkill and provide the name, mailing
address, e-mail address, and telephone number of the authorized agent of the
owner resident within or with a business office located within the City of
Beacon or the adjoining Towns of Fishkill.
B. Vacant
building fees:
(1) The information set forth in Subsection A above
shall be filed on forms provided by the Building Department together with an
annual fee in the amount of $120 on or before the 31st day of January of each year, to cover the cost of quarterly
inspections of the property.
(2) Where a building becomes vacant after the enactment of this chapter, the
first annual fee shall be prorated to $60 per month for each month remaining
during the same year, and the total fee for the remaining portion of the year
shall be paid no later than 30 days after the building becomes vacant. Each
year thereafter that the building remains vacant the provisions of Subsection B (1) above shall apply.
C. The Building Department shall cause such vacant
building to be inspected on a quarterly basis and shall notify the owner
or agent at the address filed with the Building Department of any accumulation
of trash, debris, rodent infestation, the failure to keep said building secured
or other violation of law, ordinance, City
or state code or regulation at the premises.
The owner shall have seven days from receipt of said notice to correct
such conditions.
(1) If the owner
fails to correct such condition, the City may enter on the property, correct said condition and assess the cost of such work
against the property.
D. The
total amount due shall become a lien against the property and may be assessed
against the same on the City tax roll, if not paid in full by October 1st
of each year.
§ 92-4. Exemptions.
A building which has suffered fire
damage or damage caused by extreme weather conditions shall be exempt
from the registration requirement for a period of 30 days after the date of the
fire or extreme weather event if the property owner submits a request for
exemption in writing to the Building Department. This request shall include the
following information supplied by the owner:
A. A description of the premises;
B. The names and addresses of the owner or owners;
C. A
statement of intent to repair and reoccupy the building in an expedient manner
or the intent to demolish the building.
§ 92-5. Refunds.
The owner of a vacant building shall be entitled to a
pro-rated refund on the fee paid for the calendar
year in which the structure has been renovated or legally re-occupied.
§ 92-6. Penalties for offenses.
A. .Any person who shall violate any of the
provisions of this chapter or fail to comply therewith or who shall violate or fail to comply with any order
made thereunder shall be punished as provided
in § 1-3 for violation of this chapter of the Code of Ordinances of the City of
B. .The imposition of one penalty for any
violation shall not excuse the violation or permit it to continue, and all such persons shall be required
to correct or remedy such violations or defects. Each day that prohibited
conditions exist shall constitute a separate offense.
C.
The application of the above penalty shall not be held to prevent
the enforced removal of prohibited conditions.
Tim Dexter: I was not in
the office today.
Council Member
Kelly: A constituent had a fire that rendered the place not
fit for occupancy. In that case, how would
this apply?
Tim Dexter: That would
not apply at all because it is not a vacant building. At this time, if this happens, they have to
notify the Building Department.
Council Member
Kelly: When you say designate a managing agent - what
actually does an agent do?
Tim Dexter: Someone who
will be a contact person for the owner.
If something happened we could contact the agent and have him inform the
owner what has to be done. Remember this
draft was created using the
Council Member
Kelly: Will the resident have to get a release from you?
Tim Dexter: They
will get a thirty-day window. They have
to formally apply for this exemption. If
that building meets the definition of a vacant building, then they this would
apply as a unoccupied building. Tim:
It becomes a vacant building when it is unoccupied or unsecured and
determined to be unsafe. This would make
it a vacant building.
Council Member Kelly: It seems to be
burdensome for this individual because he has only 30 days to work on the
building.
Tim Dexter: The
thirty days pertains to them registering and notifying the building
department. They can take as long as it
takes to restore the building for occupancy.
Council Member Gold:
Regarding the agent. Our goal is to be able to reach someone if
the need arises.
Tim Dexter: I would like to discuss any problems with Jerry in
order to implement the law.
Please notify the absent council members and have them
look at the draft and ask if they have any particular thoughts.
Council Member Gold:
I read art's report He said
that that there is not enough room for two-way traffic. I spent time there and I agree that a one-way
street is the way to go. Someone
suggested that it be one way from
Council
Member Shea: Phil: asked Mr. Tomaselli
(who was seated in the audience) what his opinion is.
Mr.
Tomaselli
said that snow plowing is a problem because cars are parked there illegally.
City Administrator Joseph Braun: I
would still advise that we put a large sign up at the entrance of this road
informing the residents that ",
. This road is going to be one way and we
would appreciate your input. Please call
if you have any ideas." There is
only a portion that is a problem.
Council Member Gold:
Residents are concerned with
speed control and children playing. They
showed me diagrams that if it is one way, it would force the cars to
curve. Maybe we should be a little creative
and do something here that we have not done anywhere else.
Mayor Gould: This should go
to Traffic Safety - This should be a recommendation of the council. I agree with Joe that we should have large
sign asking the residents for any recommendations. No one can say that they did not see the
sign.
Dummy Light (Not on Agenda)
Mayor Gould: asked about where we are on the Dummy Light and said
that someone sent her information telling how high a traffic light should be (8
- 10" High).
Mr. Tomiselli: You
can't do what you want to do. We are
going to the school on Wednesday. They
are going to superimpose on the computer and show us what it looks like.
Council Meetings - Videoing Authorize Hire part time person.
City Administrator Braun: My thought
would be that if we pay the crossing guard 15.00 an hour, we should hire
someone to videotape the meeting for $15.00 an hour. This would be just for the meetings and not
the workshops. The person we hire will
work approximately four hours a month.
We will have someone speak at the community segment
Waterfront Coordinator Agreement
Resolution
along with Extension of Agreement to be signed is included in the Workshop
packet.
City Administrator
Braun: Aryeh
Siegel is the guy that has done this
for the last couple of years. He is
primarily responsibility for coordinating grants.
Council Member Gold: I
see you included some recommendations.
Mayor Gould: The committee came down with some
recommendations to keep it limited and I added some recommendations because it
seemed logical to me. They did not want
it too big but I think that it is important to have everybody covered.
This will be included on the
Agenda for
Increase in Salaries - Department Heads and City
Administrator
Council Member Kelly:
The
last council meeting we separated the managerial employees from the
confidential employees. My understanding
is that confidential employees that are exempt because they deal with
confidential matters. They do not have
the security as union employees. When it
comes to managerial employees that is different. I am not opposed to looking at and increasing
salaries. I do not think we should be
giving growth and longevity benefits to managerial employees. I think it will set a precedent. I do not think the concept really
applies. I am interested in looking at
the salaries of the managerial employees and the history of that salary. I think they should be increased on a regular
basis. There is an issue in salary
administration that is called salary compression. The employee should not be paid as much as
his supervisor. I am looking at straight
time only. I request that we have
salaries of the department heads and when was the last time they received and
how much. What is the highest paid
salary? I am concerned that we will have
salary compression problems. It all
comes down to money. I think we should
pay our department heads fairly. I
recommend that the city provide us with the information we need. The pay should be fair.
Mayor Gould: We need more information on salaries and information
from different communities.
City Attorney Pisanelli: Does the
council want to make this offer to her formally? We talked about a resolution. It would be best to give her an easement.
Council Member Gold: We should give her something in
writing would be a good idea.
Council Member Kelly: I don't think
we should sell it to her.
City Administrator Braun: We
have utilities there and we should not give it to her. She should have a permanent easement. There were complaints when 9D was being
built. People might complain 20 years
from now that we need two entrances.
They would question why Beacon ever agreed to sell this piece of
property.
Council Member Kelly:
I don't think she realizes
that she can put in a blacktop driveway.
City Attorney Pisanelli: She
would have to sign this and agree to relocate her driveway.
Council Member Gold:
If she does not want to accept
the terms then we should just let it go.
Council Member Kelly:
We can offer it to her. If she does not sign this then that will end
it.
Mayor Gould: This will then clear the records.
This will be placed on the Council Meeting Agenda for
Appointments / Ratifications
/Announcement
Advisory Committee for
the Transportation Linkages:
1.
Deborah Buckley, Metro North, dbuckley@mnr.org
2.
Jennifer Mackiewicz,
Dia:Beacon jmackiewicz@diacenter.org
3.
Joseph Braun, City of
4.
Mark Wildonger,
Scenic Hudson, mwildonger@scenichudson.org
5.
Matthew Rudikoff, Foss Group, mrudikoff@rudikoff.com
6.
Nancy Welsh, DOS, nwelsh@dos.state.ny.us
7.
Regan Chichester,
The Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries, rchichester@thebeaconinstitute.org
8.
Sara Pasti, BACA & Comprehensive
Planning, Sarapasti@aol.com
9.
John Clarke, Dutchess County Planning jclarke@co.dutchess.ny.us
10.
Aryeh
Siegel, City of
11.
Anthony Thomaselli
12.
Mary Kay Vrba DC
Tourism - mkv@dutchesstourism.com
13.
Kevin Byrne Comprehensive
Plan Member - kb@vandarch.com
14.
Michael Bender Main Street
Business
15. John Gunn Planning Board - john_gunn@gensler.com
Mayor
Gould: Is
everyone all right with these appointments?
Council
Member Gold: The
only thing I want to say is that I think on Sunday a group of people are going
to meet to go over the signage and it is just something that snowballed from
the Planning Committee. These are people
who are meeting on their own.
Mayor
Gould: They were told to
send in their names if they were interested.
This
will be placed on the Council Meeting Agenda for April 16, 2007.
Ratification
W. H.
Mase Hook & Ladder Co. No. 1
Ronald
Arrigo Active Member effective April 3, 2007
This
will be placed on the Council Meeting Agenda for April 16, 2007/
Other
Business: Remove lien on taxes for failure
to pay water bill. Peter Diane Spiak -
City
Administrator Braun: A water customer who failed
to pay her water bill and a lean was put on her house. We went to a process and they asked me to
remove the lien and they agreed to pay the water bill in increments. The Council will have to agree to her
request. If they agree she will have to
pay in payments for eight quarters with no interest or penalties. If you do not agree to this, then a lien will
be put on the taxes.
Council
Member Gold: asked if this would be the
policy
City
Administrator: said that there are not many of these. If there are others, we go though the same
process.
No one has a problem with
that. It will be placed on the Agenda
for
Change in voting Places. See Memo.
The following is a memo dated
We discussed
this briefly at a workshop a while back, the cut off date to change the voting
places is May 1st.
We have had
complaints that the
These are some suggestions:
Leave the schools out of it.
People would then know that if it's a school election, you vote at a school, if it's a general election, you
vote some place else. It would also help with parking in the
non-presidential years.
Have a
different place for each Ward, which would include all districts of that Ward. This would make
it easier to remember.
Ward 1 (all districts) - try for
Southern Dutchess Country Club. Parking is available, and if you walk up the hill toward the pro shop, then
over to the building, it can be made accessible. (I believe there are two
steps, which could have a ramp.) Building dept. is checking this out. We would
of course need permission.
Ward 2 (all districts) - L.T, Hose
Fire Company
Ward 3 (all districts) - St.
Joachim's gym. (They are agreeable to host us, there's parking and room.) It's just a few blocks from
Ward 4 (all districts) - Memorial
Building. Same as now, but more room because it will be just that ward.
Mayor Gould:
A change in voting places has to be in by
Council Member Gold:
The
Board of Elections made recommendations regarding driveways to go into a voting
place. When we look at these places we
are looking for handicap accessibility. I did an inspection of these
places. I have suggested that all wards
be located at the same place.
Mayor Gould: It would be better to have
all the same wards go to the same location to avoid confusion. - Ward 1 was a
problem. The other problem is at the
schools. Ward 4 will stay at the
memorial building. They mentioned two
other places -
Council Member Gold:
The
Board has purchased temporary ramps, which can be used. In Fishkill voting places charge a fee. If you like, I will take a look at it this
week or next.
Mayor Gould: I think that
would be good. We have only one more
meeting before May 1st.
Council Agenda -
Community Segment:
Garden Club
Add: GIS Thing if the guy from
Advisory Committee
Remove Tax lien
Workshop ended at
Submitted by Lucy M. Cullinan - April