Reorganizational Meeting - Tonawanda



Council Chambers

Tonawanda, New York

September 1, 2020

A Regular Meeting of the Common Council – 7 P.M.

Present: Council President Koch

Present Councilmembers: Newman, Kammerdeiner, Rautenstrauch, Mileham

Pledge of Allegiance led by Council President Koch

Prayer provided by Associate Chaplain Tim Newman, read by Council President Koch

MAYOR’S PUBLIC HEARING

A LOCAL LAW #2 – 2020 - Property Tax Levy in Excess of Limit

Mayor Davis- So everybody knows the first step in the process, is the Council has to adopt a resolution to allow the city to exceed the tax cap for the year 2021, that notice has to be published in a newspaper and there needs to be a public hearing, and on the Local Law to exceed the tax cap, and I am tasked with the responsibility to have that public hearing on the Local Law #2 to exceed the tax cap for the year 2021. The next step in this process is the next meeting the council will formally vote either to approve or decline the overriding of the tax cap. So with that in mind, I will open it up to any questions from the public on the Local Law.

Council President Koch- the tax cap is what percentage?

Mayor Davis- 1.5%

Council President Koch- Thank you Mayor.

Mayor Davis-Any questions from the public on Local Law #2? Any questions from the public on Local Law #2? Ok, I declare this public hearing closed. Thank you.

COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE MAYOR

Email from Mayor to the Common Council regarding Erie County’s Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF)

Letter from Mayor to National Grid requesting a Temporary Use Agreement (TUA) to begin the conversion of existing HID Street Lights to LEDs

COMMUNICATIONS FROM CITY OFFICIALS AND CORRESPONDENCE

Monthly Activity Report of the Fire Department for July 2020

Board of Appeals August 2020 Meeting Minutes

Letter from Lt. Scott Sheehan regarding the City of Tonawanda Computing Infrastructure

Letter from Council President to the City Attorney, City Treasurer and the Common Council regarding a request for the invoice of the June Legal Fees

Email from City Assessor regarding Katie Schultz successful completion of a recent ORPTS class for Assessment Administration

Email from National Grid to Mayor indicating City of Tonawanda has been selected as a EV Charging Station Pilot program

Letter from Councilmember Newman to City Treasurer requesting documentation on the Mayor’s Trust and Agency Account

Letter from City Attorney to Common Council and City Treasurer regarding Outside Counsel Fee Invoices

Letter from City Treasurer to Councilmember Newman is response to letter dated August 26, 2020 requesting documentation on the Mayor’s Trust and Agency Account

Received the Erie County Clerk’s Office 2019 Annual Report

Referred to the Committee of the Whole

Ordered filed

COMMENTS BY THE PUBLIC ON RESOLUTIONS

No Comments

The Tonawanda Common Council, in an effort to conduct business in a timely fashion and maintain an open line of communication with the public, welcomes comments on resolutions and other City business.

• Persons wishing to speak and be recognized by the President of the Common Council are to be courteous, respectful, non-repetitive and brief.

• All questions and/or comments should be addressed to the President of the Common Council.

• Please state your name and address clearly for inclusion in the Common Council minutes. In the event any person wishes a response outside the confines of the Common Council meeting, please leave all necessary contact information with the City Clerk after the meeting.

• Persons may address the Common Council during (2) separate sessions of the meeting for a total of 30 minutes per session. Once prior to the resolutions and also after the resolutions prior to Common Council comments.

• Individuals may speak a total of (3) minutes per speaker per session. The President of the Common Council will adhere to this (3) minute guideline in an effort to allow everyone an opportunity to speak who wishes to do so.

• The President of the Common Council reserves the Council’s right to limit or expand upon these limits as he/she may deem necessary and prudent.

• Usage of cell phones other than for emergency is prohibited during all Council Sessions.

MOTIONS AND RESOLUTIONS

126. By Council seconded by Council

Resolved, that the Common Council minutes from August 18, 2020 be accepted as filed.

Ayes: Newman, Kammerdeiner, Rautenstrauch, Mileham, Koch

Nays: None

Resolution declared adopted

127. By Councilmember Newman seconded by Council President Koch

Whereas, a Special Events application was received by the City Clerk from Ron Rice on behalf of the Bikers for Trump to conduct the Motorcycle Ride from Gratwick Park to Riverworks in Buffalo, and

Whereas, the application was reviewed and commented on by all appropriate department heads to ensure the safety and well being of our residents, and

Whereas, all details for the above named event must be coordinated with Captain Fredric Foels and the event chairperson, now

Therefore, be it resolved that permission is granted to the Bikers for Trump to hold their Motorcycle Ride on Sunday, September 5, 2020 with a rain date of September 6, 2020 at 12:00 P.M.

Ayes: Newman, Kammerdeiner, Rautenstrauch, Mileham, Koch

Nays: None

Resolution declared adopted

128. By Councilmember Kammerdeiner seconded by Councilmember Newman

Whereas, a Special Events application was received by the City Clerk from the Delaware Hose Company #2 for their Hot Dog/Sausage Sale, and

Whereas, the application was reviewed and commented on by all appropriate department heads to ensure the safety and well being of our residents, and

Whereas, all details for the above named event must be coordinated with Captain Fredric Foels and the event chairperson, now, therefore be it

Resolved, that permission is granted to the Delaware Hose Company #2 to hold a Hot Dog/Sausage Sale on September 19, 2020 from 11:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M.

Ayes: Newman, Kammerdeiner, Rautenstrauch, Mileham, Koch

Nays: None

Resolution declared adopted

129. By Council seconded by Council

WHEREAS, the City of Tonawanda desires to purchase new windows for the Northern side of City Hall and upgrades to the Air Conditioning Unit, so that we can reduce the water used to cool the building; and

  WHEREAS, the City of Tonawanda has been given a chance to apply for a State and Municipal Facilities Program reimbursement grant (SAM) in the amount of $250,000.00 from the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York (DASNY), to cover the complete cost of the purchase of the above stated equipment. 

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Mayor is authorized and directed to seek a grant for the purchase of the Energy Efficient Windows and upgrades to the HVAC system in the amount of $250,000.

Council President Koch - This is not a matching grant correct Mayor?

Mayor Davis - That would be correct.

Council President Koch - Can you just kind a give a brief summary about how this came about.

Mayor Davis - Back in the beginning of the year, Ken Berlinski reached out to me from Assemblyman Robin Schimminger’s office, and indicated that there may be some money available SAM grant for any improvements to any of the city buildings, and I kind a indicated to him that we could use some new windows, I believe they are the original windows from back in the 60’s. Same with the HVAC unit, and then Covid hit and everything was lost in the shuffle and a few weeks ago he reached out to me and indicated that the money was still available in the budget if we wanted to move forward so therefore that’s why I’ve asked the Council for a resolution to move forward with the grant and the grant will cover the total cost of improvements to City Hall. There should be zero monies from the city for this project.

               

Ayes: Newman, Kammerdeiner, Rautenstrauch, Mileham, Koch

Nays: None

Resolution declared adopted

130. By Councilmember Rautenstrauch seconded by Councilmember Kammerdeiner

Whereas, a Special Events application was received by the City Clerk from David Oliver for a Support Trump and Blue Rally, and

Whereas, the application was reviewed and commented on by all appropriate department heads to ensure the safety and well being of our residents, and

Whereas, all details for the above named event must be coordinated with Captain Fredric Foels and Amanda Lofft, Parks and Recreation Director and the event chairperson, now, therefore be it

Resolved, that permission is granted to David Oliver to hold a Support Trump and Blue Rally on September 12, 2020 from 1:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M.

Ayes: Newman, Kammerdeiner, Rautenstrauch, Mileham, Koch

Nays: None

Resolution declared adopted

.

COMMENTS BY THE PUBLIC AFTER RESOLUTIONS

No Comments

COMMENTS BY THE COUNCILMEMBERS AFTER RESOLUTIONS

Councilmember Newman - I would like to Congratulate Amanda Butcher for being our newest member of our Police Department, welcome aboard. I just want to wish everybody a safe and healthy Labor Day weekend.

Councilmember Kammerdeiner - First off, I would like to remind people, starting October 1st you will not be allowed to park overnight in the street from 2 a.m.-6 a.m. I hate to be that person but, now we have to start thinking about it. The other thing I would like to mention is, I know that 2020 has not been very easy with events in the City of Tonawanda, but I would like to say kudos to the Garden Walk and Porch Fest for their successful season they just had over the weekend. The other one I wanted to mention real quick was the City of Tonawanda neighborhood united, which organized its first annual city wide garage sale this past Saturday, which was a tremendous success. So I look forward to seeing that. Also coming up, real quick the Tonawanda Erie Canal Gateway Lions Club will be at Advanced Auto Parts, this Saturday doing a parking lot BBQ, which will also have hot dogs and burgers and a cold drink. Stop by from 11 a.m- 3:30 pm. They are also looking to possibly to collect gently used shoes and glasses and hearing aides so they can pass those on to the needy. With that being said, I would like to wish everybody a happy and safe Labor Day weekend as well.

Councilmember Rautenstrauch - Nothing to report this week, Thank you.

Councilmember Mileham - I’d like to first congratulate Amanda Butcher as well, I know she will be a great addition to the Department. As a participant in the city-wide garage sale, I couldn’t be happier, for the success that we had. My garage is much cleaner and so is my basement now. To the organizers, that was a huge task to undertake and a job very well done. Next, I would like to thank Mandy at the Parks Department, I think what she did for this City kind of got swept under the rug with a lot of things going on. The trimming that has taken place around the City looks very good, I have had a couple of residents complain or notify me that some of the vines were overgrown so much that it turned into almost a blind spot at a couple corners, and within a day of the request it was cut down. Second, the Parks Department has also made huge budgetary cuts to assist us in stopping the budget bleeding brought upon by COVID. We certainly would not be in the position we are in had this not happened. I wanted to make sure she was recognized for what she had done with her budget.

Second, I’d like to address the special permit we passed this evening for the rally at the Hub next Saturday. The first amendment states that Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. I am happy that so many people have taken an interest in governance and are exercising their constitutional rights. No matter what side of the coin you are on, these rights apply to you and our constitution guarantees this. I am quite concerned however that these rally’s have often become outlets for violence, racism, and hatred and that this will occur on what should be a solemn memorial weekend for the victims of 9/11. I’d like to remind the residents of the unity we felt as a nation after the attacks When 9/11 occurred, we were totally unified as a nation, it didn’t matter who you were, what you identified as, party lines were forgotten, and we looked upon each other simply as Americans, all grieving together. Upon the weekend of the 12th our nation will be closing in on mourning the loss of 200,000 Americans - or the equivalent of 7000 9/11’s.  The weekend of the 12th there will be a support the Blue and the President rally taking place at the Hub. While supporting the police and the President have absolutely nothing to do with each other, I would urge the participants to remember these words; be thankful for the professional and  duty bound Police Department that we have here in the city, our Police Department routinely goes above and beyond for every resident in this city no matter the person’s background or creed, I ‘d also like to remind any participant  that we are a country that is hurting and very nearly broken, to remember that we are all Americans regardless of party, we are all Tonawanda residents regardless of who we are voting for, we are all humans who just want the same thing - a peaceful place to call home, to live our best lives, and get along with one another. Please concentrate on the things that make us the same and in turn bond us together as citizens of this great nation. Thank you.

Mayor - The first day of school is approaching, I would just like to wish good luck, God speed and good health to all the students and our educators as they head back to school. I think this year is going to be even more trying than last year was so good luck to everybody. Everybody has noticed the flurry activity around Spaulding. We should be closing soon on that property with Milton CAT and I’m sure we will have a nice little ceremony there in the near future kind of commemorating things and kicking things off. I would like to thank our Visual and Performing Arts for their work with the Garden walk and Porch Fest. I had a lot of people come to my house for the Garden Walk and it was nice to be able to see the steady stream of people and give people a reason to get out of their homes. Just about everybody I saw were wearing masks that came to my house and same with Porch fest, just about everybody was wearing a mask, doing their best to follow proper social distancing. It was nice to see. We kind of touched on this during the informal but we still have about 25% of our city residents that haven’t filled out the census form. I would implore everybody to take the 5 minutes that it takes to fill out the survey at . Make sure that our city and our schools get the proper state and federal funding that we deserve for our population. Playground, thanks to Urban Initiatives from Legislator Hardwick, is now open down at Niawanda Park in the western section. We are looking to hopefully within the next few years kind of add to that footprint and provide a little more ADA access for our children that normally would not be able to enjoy playgrounds. There are some instruments around the lower ring of the playground that allows children to give them so joy in playing outside and playing down by the river. Again, I would just like to thank Legislator Hardwick for the Urban Initiatives. And lastly, I would like to extend an appreciation and welcome Amanda Butcher to our Police force.

Council President Koch- Likewise, I want to congratulate Amanda Butcher on her swearing in and joining our Police force. I wish her a safe and successful career. I sound like a broken record but a shout out to all the organizers for the Garden Walk and Porch Fest. I also want to thank Chief Stuart and Councilmember Newman, on the eve of Porch Fest, it was brought to our attention that we could certainly use some cones at Clinton Park. I called our fire liaison to try to connect to Chief Stuart to have our emergency management deliver those and they did that. So, Thanks Chief and Councilmember Newman for securing that on such short notice. The Chief actually played at Porch Fest so thanks again to all the organizers. I know its been said to please complete your census, if there is anything you can take from tonight’s meeting its if you have not already, please complete your census. I would be remised if I didn’t make mention, it is pretty difficult, we have a local paper that gets delivered to our homes once a week. A lot of us rely on social media to get our messages out, whether that be Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snap chat, or however, many of us up here have both private and public pages, and there are several community pages that also we utilize, just to get our message out. I was pretty saddened to hear that one of our community pages archived last week as a result of some bullying and harassing comments that were on that page. I just want to caution. Its our main job up here to do what we can to provide updates and be as transparent as we can, do the best we can to inform on what’s happening in our community. Sometimes with limited print and social media there would do the best job that we can, so if we could all just be kind to each other, I think that would go a long way. With that said, don’t forget to complete your 2020 census and I will make a motion to adjourn.

ADJOURNMENT

132. By Council President Koch seconded by Councilmember Mileham

Resolved, that this Common Council adjourn until September 15, 2020.

Ayes: Newman, Kammerdeiner, Rautenstrauch, Mileham, Koch

Nays: None

Resolution declared adopted

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City Clerk

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Mayor

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Date Filed

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