a called order the caucus of the script the city council for september twelfth two thousand and eleven first item on the agenda for greed an ordinance amending chapter two sixty four of the code carry on the consent of gender signify by saying any opposed item one will appear on the consent agenda item number two an ordinance amending chapters one thirty eight one sixty seven and two ten item three will appear on the consent agenda item number for a resolution accepting the report of the northeast golf company and endorsing the conceptual proposals and recommendations of the report again this is a recommendation it's kind of a wish list we will put this out and so it's not that we're going to spend three million dollars tomorrow on the golf course we would like to upgrade the golf course and continue to make it a  to get out of order to present that contract to supply a resolution awarding a contract for the two thousand and eleven water line the placement project company in the amount of six hundred twenty one thousand nine adjourned allow call to order the schenectady city council meeting for september twelfth two thousand and eleven as everyone to rise for the invocation let us pray almighty god you who watch over us we thank you for those who watch over us we thank you for those who service in the past have watched diligently over our needs almighty god you who save us we thank you for those who have saved us we thank you for those who in their service have given their lives their efforts their hearts their homes so that we might prosper we thank you for those who save us we thank you for this gathering and the honoring of these people the honoring the memory the lives spent for us we have your blessings on the deliberations of this council on all levels of government you with us as we try to do what is right in you admiration and respect of this community the clerk call the rol first one to remember king to sergeant becker's resolution that will fit into the awards recognition of the firefighters sergeant backers in the audience if you like to join us inside the rail and any other friends that you have with you stateside following his military service joined the local marine corps league joining the albany detachment in one thousand nine hundred seventy two when the local detachment disbanded then forming a year later the electric city detachment number two twenty two serving as commandant for five years and where as sergeant becker has through his many years of service helped to form seventeen other local marine corps league detachments chaired the local toys for tots program for thirty two years served as editor of the detachment newsletter and was vice president of the marine corps league foundation a charitable subsidy subsets of city ery of the national organization that helps fund scholarships memorials and youth programs and where as  addition to his local service sergeant becker has held national positions in the marine corps league including junior vice commandant senior vice commandant and the fiftieth national commandant and continues his service as the detachment paymaster chairman of the convention journal and chairman of the national legislative and veteran committee and whereas in addition to his work with the marine corps league sergeant becker extends his participation and other veterans organizations including the marine corps association the military order of the devil dogs number one thirty four the american overseas veterans the american legion and the veterans of foreign wars and whereas sergeant becker extends his generous support to his fellow veterans by assists disabled veterans with transportation helping to organize many local memorial day and veterans day celebrations and has plans to help create a soup kitchen for homeless veterans and where as in recognition of his dedication and service to the marine corps league his fellow marines and veterans of all services and his community sergeant becker has been named state and national marine of the year now therefore be it resolved this council pauses in its deliberations to acknowledge recognize and express and sere gratitude and appreciation to sergeant robert becker for his service as a marine and his dedication to duty and service to the marine corps league his fellow veterans and to the community and it is further resolved that the council and mayor of the city of schenectady command an honor sergeant robert sergeant robert becker on the occasion of his being awarded the distinction marine of the year mr president i move adoption of the resolution  i'm really speechless but i think i can find something to say here i enjoy what i do enjoy working to help my veterans and their families whatever way i can and it's just you know everybody has a love in their life and this is my love helping my  brothers and sisters who serve our country so faithful i thank you you mr president it is with a great honor and very fitting at this time that we honor schenectady city fire department and the members of the fire department especially the day after the memory in the dedication of the ten years of our nine eleven tragedy and i'm sure many and i know many of the firefighters here were down there and helped with that and also if they weren't down there they certainly were there in spirit with their brother and sister firefighters so i'd like to read the resolution of the floor whereas schenectady residents are protected every day by the selfless men and women of the schenectady fire department professional firefighters and paramedics who time and time again demonstrate th ensuring safety in the welfare of our community and whereas time and time again the exemplary training commitment and selfless terrorism of schenectady firefighters and firefighter paramedics result in rescues that save lives that would otherwise be lost as a result of fire accidents and other dangers whereas risking their own safety in very often their own lives schenectady firefighters protected in serve our community protecting valuable property from damaged by or other threats and perils against which the public would otherwise be powerless to respond and where as connected a fire department chief's award is presented at the discretion of the chief to a recipient who was selected by the chief for demonstrated exemplary firefighting skills heroic actions of leadership or has performed above and beyond the call of duty or who has exhibited outstanding dedication in service to disconnect the fire department and whereas the fire department medal of merit is awarded to a member of the department for an act involving grave personal danger in the intelligent performance of duty or for a highly credible site on my glasses unusual accomplishment in whereas it is fitting that they heroism the gallantry and dedicated service of schenectady firefighters and fire fire paramedics we recognize from time to time the individual acts of heroism be noted publicly and that the pride  gratitude of our community be expressed through its elected leaders now therefore be it resolved that disconnected the city council pass and it's to liberations to acknowledge and recognize conspicuous service heroism in valor of captain greg name and congratulate them on the conferring of the department's medal of merit for their service to the community and be it therefore further resolved that disconnect the city council pass in its deliberations to acknowledge and recognize conspicuous service first going to ask captain dan marino to come up he has a message from our chaplain who do family health reasons couldn't be here tonight he feels very bad about that but at the reno i first want to say thank you god for technology because i didn't print out the father's message i have it on my smartphone festivities solemn lee yet sadly commemorating nine eleven i join all here today in saluting you all for your bravery your courage and your willingness to continue to ever put your lives at risk for the safety and sake of others in our beloved city it's connected may god continue to shower his choices blessings on you and your family thank you for the privilege you give me in serving  chaplain along with the countless others in our community i say to you in every day we are proud of you respectfully father richard carl on the day after the tenth anniversary of nine eleven we are reminded of the bravery of the three hundred forty three firefighters who sacrificed their lives in order to save countless others on that terrible day in the history of our country we will never forget them as we also honor and recognize those schenectady firefighters that we pay tribute to tonight let us pray their exemplary task is much more than a call to duty for love begins where duty ends we thank you father for inspiring them to serve this city of schenectady with dignity bravery  honor we are indeed grateful for those they have rescued as well as for their families and we must are most grateful for sparing the firefighters themselves in their hour of need those we honor tonight to pit in my eyes a daily call to be not only the first responders but the last to leave until their work is complete nine eleven lover reminds us that all fire fires but their lives on the line for each of us every day and everywhere we thank you firefighters we honor tonight and answer lord to bless you and your families and to keep you safe for more harm in your efforts to save and rescue us for there is no greater l thank you father for those beautiful inspirational words thank you mr mccarthy members of the council for holding this ceremony during the city council meeting and accommodating us on this really very happy occasion thanks to judy versace and all the fire department staffer efforts in preparing the certificates and for helping bring this event together and also thanks to the citizens of schenectady for your encouragement and support and we give you thanks every day we really do at no time since two thousand and one have as many recommendations for recognition of exceptional conduct in the performance of duty have been submitted on behalf of schenectady fire department personnel it is my great honor and pleasure to convey these awards upon these firefighters on monday morning january eighteenth two thousand and ten the schenectady fire department was dispatched to a structure fire at eight fifty nine strong street arriving apparatus found heavy smoke and flames visible on the second floor of the building six occupants were trapped on an enclosed second floor front porch with smoke and fire threatening their lives and preventing their escape as ladders were raised and inside crews held the fire from advancing further these six residents were safely rescued from their perilous and terrifying situation for their quick and courageous efforts at eight fifty nine strong street on january eighth two thousand and ten during the rescue of six civilians trapped on an enclosed front porch were threatened by heavy smoke and flames lieutenant stephen house style ski and firefighter paramedic michael de vero are awarded the schenectady fire department medal of merit but then by just a second some of the personnel here are on duty they're also being recognized but you're going to see him going because the calls don't stop so please bear with us with that for their lifesaving efforts in removing a female fire  victim who was barely conscious from an upper floor in a fire at age ninety three emmett street on february seventh two thousand and ten and then immediately rescuing another fire victim from a different second story window firefighter paramedic benjamin of life this is another case where aggressive action and teamwork prevented a different outcome and every fire furder on the scene shares in the credit for the lifesaving work accomplished at this fire accordingly all members of graduate if you'll bear with me also receive also of that region the list of firefighters who are going to receive accommodations but logistically will distribute those probably outside this room lieutenant paramedic guy gio lee firefighter paramedic patrick santa firefighter paramedic jeremy madsen firefighter paramedic jason bailey firefighter paramedic adam firefighter paramedic brian flynn captain john nicholl firefighter paramedic shawn burns firefighter paramedic steven strozzi now lieutenant strozzi lieutenant paramedics christopher ke and firefighter paramedic frank bellicose captain timothy cheat's firefighter paramedic kyle o'connor firefighter paramedic walter paige i firefighter paramedic michael firefighter paramedic william teats firefighter paramedic william rhodes firefighter john della rocco lieutenant paramedic robert christgau vs captain donald masher own and deputy chief michael gillespie at a fire in march of two thousand and ten at eighteen grove place it's connected the firefighters responded to a working structure fire with reports of two children trapped inside a second floor apartment i can tell you nothing makes your heart sing more than hearing something like this in spite of intense heat conditions and zero visibility captain greg arnold lieutenant stephen house firefighter paramedic thomas tr cole lieutenant paramedic anthony hell styled ski and  firefighter paramedic matthew rainham and crawled into the burning building where they located and rescued two children from the fire building due to their lifesaving efforts these children are alive today the schenectady fire department medal of merit is  of warded these individuals all members of the firefighting team will also receive going to the fire department commendations for their work at this fire so if the medal recipients will please step up  lieutenant paramedic william rockin stier firefighter brian metz firefighter paramedic joshua conelly firefighter paramedic jason simon captain michael klare firefighter walter pay jack lieutenant paramedic gary cupola firefighter paramedic dwayne dulce ignore firefighter paramedic michael harbor fire fighter paramedic jonathan weigh in and deputy chief raymond  in july of two thousand and ten in a fire which occurred at two thirty seven mccloughan street lieutenant paramedic donald marino and firefighter paramedic william teats located and rescued a child from a fire which was intentionally set that child is alive today during the subsequent investigation of this fire it was considered almost incredible in fact unbelievable that this little girl was found within the fire debris lieutenant marino and firefighter teats will receive the fire schenectady fire department medal of merit and in recognition of in recognition of their actions in locating removing and treating additional victims of this fire firefighter paramedic craig masher own firefighter paramedic mark barr cume lieutenant paramedic then almight danial miner stg and firefighter paramedic scott briggs will also receive the medal of merit if those individuals also be recognized at this fire the following individuals reason will receive schenectady fire department commendations for their part in fighting the fire and resuscitation efforts for the victims of the mcclelland street fire hughes lieutenant david macerata firefighter paramedic michael o'brien firefighter paramedic michael stanley firefighter paramedic jason bailey firefighter paramedic adam levy firefighter paramedic adam colvin lieutenant paramedic guy g ollie lieutenant david mannix firefighter paramedic dan weiss from just one hour in a call firefighter paramedic christopher carroll captain the two thousand and ten this was a year as you may have heard me say before like no other a high rise fire at seven sixty three state street took place because of budgetary constraints and the crease staffing on this evening truck one had been reduced to a two man crew only because of their determination preparedness and skill lieutenant cupola and firefighter from vada were able to remove fire victims from an upper story while other members of the firefighting crew were performing rescues from the fire floor as the fire still burned and extinguishment was under way for their actions in rescuing a number of residents from a high rise fire at seven sixty three state street in august of two thousand and ten the following personnel will receive the schenectady fire department medal of merit lieutenant paramedic anthony hell style ski lieutenant paramedic gary cupola firefighter department commendations are also here by awarded to all members of the firefighting team who worked at this fire for their efforts in the prevention of loss of life lieutenant paramedic stephen house style city firefighter paramedic anthony klaus firefighter paramedic stephen tift firefighter paramedic kevin woodrow firefighter paramedic thomas dear cole lieutenant david mamet's firefighter paramedic joshua paramedic anthony hell style city firefighter paramedic adam levy firefighter paramedic matthew ryan newman and firefighter paramedic mike common sense you could already been recognised  there is one individual who's not here tonight and he didn't know he was going to get this award and had a scheduled vacation but on his way on vacation up in maine a cars several  cars in front of him suddenly started to spin flipped over turned and went off the road it's his job twenty four hours a day on an off duty in the movie backdraft the character played by donald sutherland says firemen are firemen twenty four hours a day every day and it's absolutely true so this individual went to the car assess the patient put traction on her neck and when the arriving fire crews got there told them what equipment to get sold on an off duty superb individual the schenectady fire department's chief's medal is awarded at the discretion of the chief for demonstrating exemplary firefighting skills heroic actions or leadership or for performance above and beyond the call of duty the recipient of this year's award was involved in dramatic rescues at eight fifty nine strong street and eight ninety three emmett street front page newspaper photographs recorded his actions under significant and stressful fire conditions he was also involved in the rescues growth place he keeps himself physically fit and sets a good example for younger firefighters this is important to me personally he's a devoted father and is very humble about being recognized for doing his job for actions above and beyond and in recognition of his lifesaving efforts and a good knowledge meant of his high standards of excellence in the performance of his duties on a daily basis lieutenant paramedic stephen house he is here by awarded the schenectady fire department chief's medal and will let him know about it and will be sure he gets his medal it must be noted that these officers and firefighters operate as a teen every member on the scene is engaged in the effort and shares and the recognition given to these individuals from the pump operators an aerial ladder operators to others who place ladders and fought the fires while the rescues took place not everyone finds himself or herself placed in a situation where there is the opportunity to take part in a dramatic rescue but every firefighter shares in the pride that goes with being a part of it unfortunately every one of the shares in the heartbreak as well when things don't turn out as we would like them to turn out the awful reality of these fires is that most of them were started by children unsupervised and with easy access to the means to start a fire that means that most of these fires were preventable we work on this tragic problem every day and will continue to try to stress the terrible dangers of fire and dedicate ourselves to convey the importance of fire safety make sure your smoke detectors operate properly always remember the basics of spiers safety prevention education early detection and immediate response in gratitude for and in tribute to the lifesaving efforts of these fine individuals let us each pledge to do more to brevet fire every day of the year thank you very much  are here and we have an official statement that we are reading before the things this was happening on the government operations committee on september the sixth item to a permanent actually report by america to escape i wanted to say thanks to of equal employment opportunity it must be prohibited unlawfully discrimination in employment and must engage in personal practices and policies that result in the city government's workforce reflektor the demographic diversity of the city to all phases of employment must be addressed recruitment testing hire and training retention and promotion while having someone take an exam that may lead to an appointment as good a necessary step it does not feel this obligation three all report submitted by the city county affirmative action eighty eight coordinator must be submitted on time i see the any report no later than the first week of february must be complete including short and long term goals of the office further affirmative action goals need to be clearly reported as followed specific measurable accountable realistic and timely for report submitted to the city council a public meeting by the city county affirmative action manager eighty eight coordinator should not be labeled confidential report by the city county affirmative action manager eighty a coroner made misleading statements at the september sixth meeting there were no affirmative action complaints filed received no complaints from the construction site deploys this past year we are aware of that complaints have been referred to other organizations like the new york state human rights commission he'll see our local opposite rather than working to solve the client's locally be advice of the city as connect you can still be found liable six while it is true that unions are handling the affirmative action appliance locally that does not relieve the city of schenectady of its obligations further this places this place employees in positions of resolving affirmative action issues rather than the management seven percent white we respectfully request a meeting to discuss our concerns noted to determine how to best move forward to achieve that goal a city workforce reflecting the democratic demographic diversity of schenectady reflected a smear that good evening vince reg twenty one thirty eight campbell ave i have some concerns i know you say you're not going to spend the money right away just have some advice advice on the golf course but i don't think now is the time to even talk about bonding three million dollars for anything i mean if the golf course is working and obviously it isn't the revenue is anywhere between twenty thousand or one hundred thousand which i don't really understand the disparity between that but i just think there are so many other priorities right now i think th down on the list and to talk about bonding that i realize it's going to add an increasing breed fees and maybe not a cost to the taxpayer but ultimately it may be because it may discourage people from playing there i don't really know but i think on a priority list th should move down we should talk about finding three million dollars right now i mean we have a bond that money eight million dollars for the parking garage who knows what that's going to cost and when by the time that's paid off so i think i would like you to really think hard on this before we spend that kind of money or think about borrowing that kind of money  i've looked it over and pretty sure he got it the way he wanted it we had no change and now i just want to say something about it's resolution number six about the week of the constitution i just read a book last week by one of america's top corporate leaders and he is that the president's no longer their back constitution well i don't know how you can revive it when a bunch of dictators and other people have taken it over it seems like the law is placed around here and  the whole country but the organizational chart the worst of the worst joy hall before anything happens it's got to be done on a lie to screech they just in a big hurry to get where they want to get don't stop to think about safety not they don't think about it on roger hall i live in the city i also on the and gradually the fire police and other emergency service personnel who made life easier for people in the past two weeks the people in the communities affected rarely have i seen people act so positively in the face of tragedy tragedy which struck many of them twice i was impressed and moved their example should serve as a model for all of us and we should learn from that we should also learn well i believe to be one of the biggest mistakes this city has made a very long time namely the construction of the twenty seven million dollars plus foster avenue the park the public works facility it is a building we didn't need and is a building we couldn't afford by committing the funds necessary for  we made other decisions impossible a much smaller facility would have given us for example the ability to take down everyone every one of the seven hundred for still is in this city that we claim not to have the funds to the mall or we need a plan and we need to establish priorities the proposed golf course may well fall into the same category while no one can argue with the need to maintain one's assets as connect the muni is clearly a major asset of the community we have to recognize that any  may affects other the situations and as presented today there are more holes in this plan than there are in the eighteen hole golf course let's not slip into a sand trap let's try and find out openly and honestly what we need to do we need a plan and we need to establish priorities the sessions should never be made in a vacuum as anyone who's ever run any corporation organization knows and decisions as a city approaches a financial cliff must be examined and reexamined and reexamined once more we need a plan and we need to establish priorities and we need to do so before we go over that that concludes the individuals who signed up to speak on the legislative agenda this point i would entertain a motion to adopt the consent agenda who by council member king secondly mr erickson all in favor signify by saying i any oppose open up for privilege of the for dealing with general city business the first speaker is barbara kat l block grant grant and you have no public areas and you basically shepherded money that was totally and contradiction to the five year plan you know money from snap over to other departments you took away the code enforcement such you were that you were willing to spend for the next five years and you had no public hearing on this you had no directions whatsoever and you basically threw the five year plan right out the door you also didn't even discuss about the firman of action officer and the duties that she is supposed to have between as she has for the first twenty hours that she gives per week to the city it was a noted that in the first quarter of the her community bill a block grant porter is that she turned around and she charged the city for sitting on a board to find the next executive director for hamilton art center i mean this is what does that have to do with affirmative action absolutely nothing and it's a conflict of interest because if anybody files an affirmative action report against hamilton hill arts center under the communal block grant she is the one supposed to  do in the investigation now how could she do the investigation when she's got a cut when she's got her hands top tied in the cookie in the jar you know i mean it's just you know we need to discuss exactly how we're going to do this a from an auction and you keep sending fifty thousand dollars of federal money over to this office and we get absolutely zero results you know we need to start looking at goals we need to start looking at how are we going to do diversification not only for minorities but also for a person with disabilities we've got to take a look at polar selves up on the boat straps and start hiring our own people not people from elsewhere and then calling jobs creation when you've transferred them from w everywhere else you didn't create thirty five hundred jobs you transferred out we need to start hiring our own people and put our own people back to work and that's what we need to start looking at and you know we need to call for a public hearing for the in house portions of the community of a block grant money that is yours required to have to public hearings on the community of a block grant money the second public hearing that you need which is the r process that goes out in december to determine how you're going to meet the goals of the five year plan and you keep saying yes we want to do it we want to do it and then else side you just allow the development office to do whatever the heck they want to do presenting a bill to the assembly and to the senate for suspending sales tax for people that need items that they lost in the flawed in for repair of things that they lost in  for moving expenses and things anything that's flood related to suspend sales tax and i think that's a great idea because i mean we should look at this as a windfall through a tragedy to get extra money into the coffers of a community or for the state so i would like to also see the county and the city opt into this plan because i think it's a good thing it will help relieve some of the financial impact because a lot of people don't have flood in obvious and there really are impacted financially so i think i know logistically it may be kind of hard to do but i'm sure there could be some kind of proof maybe through insurance claims that they've had these were flood related and to have a program where they don't have to pay sales tax to replace some of the ride on this or to read pair their buildings i think is a good thing i'd also like to add and it was a plan that i think  erickson brought up about the sidewalks i think the city should also suspend any fees for permits needed to rebuild or repaired their buildings down there i think that would be a good thing it would help some walk to lessen the financial burden on these people that have really been affected so i think the city certainly should jump on that one and suspend fees for permits because we do it for the sidewalk plan that's one thing and that's good but i think we should also do it now for people because it's they can require electrical permits building permits all those things so let's suspend the fees on those and give the people little bit of a break to help them a little bit thank you to an individual landowner i was relieved to learn that that was removed from the agenda due to some d c restrictions on wetlands i'm not reassured however that the issue will come up again and that's ground that i thought had already been covered i'd like to reiterate the recommendations from the schenectady comprehensive plan twenty twenty for the woodlawn neighborhood one of the goals was to formally protect the woodlawn wildlife habitat and her servant designated as a park land but one of the bulleted items was expanded preserved to include the city owned parcels and paper streets along its borders from the would one management plan the final revision recommendation one connect city own arsenals the city owns lands that fall outside the existing borders the woodlawn preserve these should be designated forever while the become part of the preserve this act will make up for those areas that were developed within the preserve borders was reminded tonight that selling lots would be in violation of a nine hundred sixty nine ordinance that says the city is to acquire lots as they become available so the woodlawn ma has been completed revisions and reformatting have been made as requested by steve strike men and we've been actively attempting to get him a final copy that he's able to open on his computer we strongly urged that it's final approval and formal acceptance so we can move forward with trying to restore this habitat we now have a facebook page friends of the woodlawn pine bush preserve and i was posting photos of our past efforts and realize that we've been trying to clean up and post signs around the perimeter  preserve the last eight years we have an e mail address friends w p and g mail dot com so please contact us if you want to be on the list for any mailings that are sent out and will begin to have regular monthly meetings the fourth wednesday of each month council members my name is mary and recital and i am the proud friend of mayor l does in ski i say this because this friendship seems to be a problem with gary mccarthy and i'm hearing that there are others in this city that feel the same way because of this friendship mccarthy chooses to punish my whole neighborhood every time i talk about this the image of the evil nest the grinch from the grinch who stole christmas keeps coming to mind i live in the east front street neighborhood i am here to talk about the hurricane i read in the flooding in my neighborhood when the heavy rains came the sword started backing up on the front street near the plant this is common when it rains the poor people that live at this and always get sewage in their basement when it rains it when we get heavy rains this problem was supposed to be fixed years ago when the city was fined for having the storm sewers and sewage pi joined into the same place but with this a ministration they choose to build a thirty million dollar garage and now put three million dollars into the golf course not into our neighborhoods that are truly suffering when i asked mccarthy why this problem was not fixed he said it would be addressed with the out book project well it's too late these poor people have lost everything because of the administration's negligence with the exceptional heavy rains the sores backed up flooding front street river street and all the yards that lead to the railroad bridge are lower yard on front street was flooded up to our waist and in the hundred ninety years that we've owned the house we've never had this problem it was heartbreaking to watch the homeowners standing waiting for the water to recede but it didn't happen because there was no place for the water to go it did not come from the river well finally the grinch who stole christmas showed up with paul taco and i thought at this point i said to my sister we need to do something we need to get help my sister called the mayor so often it was of course mayor stephens rude and mccarthy was hanging out in the stockade i called him to dust those offices and the staff there was very they told me they would make a call to city hall see jim to put to death still doesn't care what your political party is or who your friends are he just wants to help the people was in the city not like the grinch who stole christmas within a very short time city workers started showing up i went to send i want to send out a huge big thank you to the sewer department these guys were to help us until they were ready to collapse working through the night to get rid of the water in our streets it is sa didn't feel they could give these guys a raise but you could spend thirty million dollars in a garage and that now three million dollars on the golf course i also want to take say thank you to the c n n taishan department and all the other blue collar workers these guys also work very hard to help the people who have been struck by this horrible flood let us not forget our wonderful wonderful firemen a policeman who are out in the storm jumping from one problem to another in the drenching rains and winds we are so lucky to them i want to thank the subway shop and route fifty just past maple avenue on the left inside i went to buy a large clubs and the two young clerks in owners were so can't carry they donated the subs to us so please when you get the urge for sub give these kind people your business in closing i would like the city and the residents to pay attention election is coming do you want the grinch who stole christmas to run our city it is time to make a difference  bury bad experience we were her support farn through the neighborhood warning us to get out within two hours that the river was going to overblow east had never experienced anything like that i have lived to my house seventy three years and i never ever experienced that some of the homes have to smile pumps to make  little bit of water that comes out of their sollars but not enough to handle the big like the big stockade people have everyone try to save their important papers and some of the burner they could handle and move it to the second floor there were many that didn't have a second floor to go to i have people i'm the person who had to choose what they could say and then close their doors and hope for the best well reversionary and lower branch three bybee out didn't have a chance it took one and a half days before we got any good re i call the mayor's office three times by then his office was sick of hearing me and said he is on his way to hours later he was up on the corner of  i hope i don't get him in trouble bill had a girl come down to the homes especially on me and one took we were able to open up and help the people carry out what was the last because everyone was gone everything was gone the renner meandering river street lost everything plus a place to live because support a landlord who was there had to stand and watch his home under water he was born near there were three homes to have nothing now and have to wait to see what help they can get they are hard working people who work for whatever they have and lost it all one which just had just purchased a new bed mattress which you were so proud of because he works hard in a store and he lost it he lost everything the other fella happing said he had worked hard for he works at a church and he has also lost everything but the last one is a very close friend of mine seventy four and she still work because she lives in schenectady and she can afford not to work she's lost everything in fact she's lost the roof over her head because her portal am bored who owns the house has lost his house he's trying real hard to get things together but at the price of things nowadays it's really hard ah  night impact i won't say who but one who made a comment well probably be in trouble about overtime i hope that's not her and i hope army air and ones that are at the head of the city schenectady for all the help they gave me pumping it out the street pumping out my cellar the fire department the sewer department the sanitation department were all there to help me and i'm really satisfied i was here in ninety six with my house got flooded and the help this time was really really much better my main concern is that there are three things cost me about twenty to thirty thousand dollars to put my house back into operation and i have some concerns that i would like to make the city council aware of according to the internet for the gauging station by the the the u thousand and eleven would have placed eleven that makes i live then i'd whole since one thousand forty want to be seventy years old this year in november and there would have seen at least four or five other floods that would have exceeded just two hundred  twenty six point twenty two foot elevation and yet i never saw any water in my house this time be in the first floor of my house this time when the water flooded up about two feet into the first floor i'm concerned that possibly there's a high level of water there bent by the sewer system the sewer system that i understand was not repaired i think the problem with water backing up into the sewer system was brought up in ninety six and as i understand from my neighbors that wasn't prepared and i'm wondering if i want least make you aware that i believe there is a problem with the sources from abi other thing that concerns me is the fact that  n the the property is going to be developed and that's in a flood plain i looked on the flood plain maps and i'm concerned that if you raise the orse fill that area that it will raise the flood house and i'd like to assure i like to tell you and so that you're aware of the fact that as that property has developed i would like to assure that my house is not at greater risk from flooding  think that's not said i'm i'm concerned about the increasing level the increasing frequency of floods on river street i'm going to invest my home but i think just in rebuilding my home but i think this will be the last time that i can really afford to do it and i would like the city council to be aware of the problems i see the development and i'll go property to possible sewer problems and the rising levels which each consecutive flood over the last seventy been on bellevue one thing i haven't heard tonight was bought the pit bull dogs and in the area in the city i think something should be done with them because any time you see the paper to someone's hurt by a dog it's a pit bull you don't hear from any other dogs there might be a few out there but it's mostly put goals and i'm just wondering if we are going to do anything about that and another thing with the floods  heard a second hand i know he had to electricity on in the pumping station i mean ferris great day had to have it on and the shut off all of ferry street but the pumping station and i heard a second hand from a good station have the pumping station on by itself is that i have a nose for houses and jeopardizing them people down there and i know when i lived down there for twenty five years i don't recall having you there we shut the power off two or three times and used to go down the cellar and pull the fuse and we had to fuse box or shut off the main circuit breaker i mean the most i ever got down there was five foot in the cellar and this time i understand a house that i did own i want time at about four to have to foot the house so we were fortunate to get out of there in time but that's all i have to thank you put on line and discovered that there are over four hundred sixty billion dollars tax free and downland money in the education system and that does not include not for profits and their tax free runs now when mr hall says that he is the least politically endowed person that's ever run for trustees college they have an endowment fund tax free of two hundred eighty five million dollars they are mandated all of these institutions to spend at least five percent of their income on student act students student activities if harvard were to use less than five percent it would be it tuitions free institution i don't know he has his own tax free foundations and is head of the ellis hospital board of trustees who also has tax exempt foundation money because they are not in the parking fund business so this is what the hands of a banana republic can do for people and i worry about this because an they want to they can create new institutions such as dormitory authorities or people with that kind of power to do anything they want but since i am an all american human being  make this take this place out of the flood plain silly college ball to bridge in a tunnel the green island bridge to the best to my knowledge was built and good evening my name is mary maclean i live in the city webster's dictionary defines puppetry as the art of manipulating puppets so maybe it means four votes not seven people who disagree with each other it takes four votes to do one spedding it is true that mr al interested but the city chairman would not return his calls it was puppetry that returned miss proctor to city council because barberin strange file deliberately vacated the sea after it was too late to collect signatures it was puppetry that made mr mccarthy acting a year a democrat told activities to the mix and the city is being run like ancient rome when collate viola was sent her and it was puppetry that took away sack from the screen i hope citizens understand what is happening to them and that they are not dazzled by by all the revitalization taking place in the city council is not responsible for that their responsibility is the budget taxpayers are being down taxes and constant spending the golf course proposal as another example fix the budget folks that is your job  good evening before i come to my main point i really would like to add a few words which goes to what happened here earlier this evening and i really would like to thank and congratulate the firefighters here in the and organizational skills along with many other veterans helped organization again plan our flag raising a memorial service is good guys are great and they all deserve their admiration of the city the reason i'm also here tonight is i basically would like to enlighten you on two aspects of running a city council meeting properly the first is the consent agenda and the second is the public hearing at the august twenty second two thousand and eleven city council meeting you abruptly move move the resolution about revising the city charter to the consent of gender proposing a city charter changes not routine it is not an ordinary piece of business it is controversy you and according to parliamentary business rules and in skewed me robert's rules of order only items that are routine in un controversy or should be moved to the consent agenda if you think that i am the only person that is concerned about your manipulation of the process you're wrong jessie malecki wrote a letter to the editor of the gazette which was published aug thirtieth two object is purely a political move and many residents have expressed to me their anger at georgia staying for the people that you supposedly represent your decision to approve unanimously the charter the city charter resolution before having the public hearing so that people can be he is basically saying we don't care what you think your opinion doesn't matter she was public hearings are required by law so that the public can express their thoughts and ideas concerning the question at hand and have their opinions considered before you decide and cast your vote i think it is time for the people of schenectady to find city council members that care and will pit will put public back into public hearings thank you akkad resident i had the opportunity to see the unbelievable flooding firsthand and i was fortunate the water did not reach my house but that wasn't the case for many neighbors i also had the opportunity to see the clean up efforts the outreach efforts the work of the red cross the salvation army i want to commend you mr mccarthy and your command staff team as well as city workers who are involved i've heard many residents commending the fire department the police the folks who work in codes and department of general services workers and others who help spread the warnings who tried to keep residents informed who assisted residents with removing things from their flooded properties and who tried to clean up the mud and debris left behind this is also the first time i have actually seen the work of the red cross of the salvation army they were there with hot meals water medical care one nurse i talked with was here from ohio they couldn't have been nicer or more caring i also want to commend the friends neighbors and perfect strangers who came to offer assistance i particularly want to commend valerie ackerman she jumped right in to survey those in the flood area to find out what was needed she set up a volunteer day she located shower facilities and she stayed in constant communication via e mail so while this was an experience i hope i will not have to repeat i really commend everybody who stepped in to help also had wanted to be here tonight but would not able to come and she particularly wanted me to praise the sake of and carlson for the extensive hours and you know the work and of course their whole team of people again i think they just did a really outstanding job i'm also hoping you'll address a couple of the issues raised tonight i think i'm right you told me that there are two gauges that measure the floodwaters and they're about three feet difference and are to some of the discrepancy that exists in reporting flood levels is the old historical data was referenced off to be the western gateway bridge or ferry street there is a new automated gauge that is located freeman's bridge that has a roughly three foot elevation difference so some of the numbers that are quoted you have to add three feet to them to get the old number that people would reference or store historically in the stockade and i know for me as i said i've lived in the house where i am for thirty years the water has never come up that far and might when neighbors right below who were not as fortunate i've lived there for fifty years and they are the entire basement there was flooded and they said they had never seen that either so this was definitely of historic proportions but on a totally different note i want to commend everybody involved with the stockade art show the gre festival in the little italy festival it was what you have wonderful after these two weeks of stress to see people walking around and smiling and it is having a good time and enjoying the sun and lastly i want to congratulate jim schmidt and were five  on the fifty year anniversary of the stockade spy the stockade spiers a monthly neighborhood newspaper very small newspaper created by jim n word or fifty years ago and it kind of pushes the preservation agenda and makes residents aware of what's going on in the neighborhood you know we have new neighbors that he has the minutes of the stockade association meetings and the like and also a command so they briber because she became the editor in one nine hundred ninety eight and does an outstanding job because that did a very nice article about that to like looking for pilots or payment with taxes and wanted to know if you could comment on whether you're going to pursue the same type of activities to see if it is not for profits are going to be a participate in in the community and paying into  the tax base the the other thing i wanted to talk about was the pit bull bill issue we brought up again today and i want to make sure that we don't forget about that i think it's something that's very important because the victims of the bull attack we're kind of change for life and we want to make sure we don't just forget about it as as the weeks go on i think that there was discussion over breeds of dogs and you know all the different things that would lead up to these horrible attacks but my personal opinion is that this seems to be an unlicensed dog issue not necessarily a breed of dog issue and that the people from the animal agency that were at the committee meeting last week kind of indicated that you look at the data and it's unlicensed dogs that seem to be the problem and so in an effort to solve that problem i think we should think about posting the dog license records publicly whether it's on the website whether it's at city hall at the library or whatever so that if you live down the street from a dog that appears to be a problem you can reference the list and if the dog appears not to be licensed you can charter change was to let the public decide we've been called upon to make some changes because different events happened over the years and so we're saying to the public here's two options which one do you want and so it's not the council dictating to change it's going to be it's the public has has the opportunity to vote on what choice they want so i think that this is probably the most democratic thing we could have done in allowing people to decide which how they want the charter to appear so that's all for for today thank you pearson and thank you for making that clarification on the charter because it's very very important that people know that they will have the opportunity to to voice their opinion on that just briefly again want to you know certainly thank all the firefighters that were here tonight their acts of heroism in allat they do for the city is connected cannot be forgotten and it's good to see that everyone here was in full support of everything that you did we weekend full of activities but we also had a wonderful ceremony yesterday afternoon at the greek church that father pianist led as well as a ceremony over on veterans park so people had the opportunity to go or be part of it it was very uplifting and it was a great way to spend the september eleventh anniversary i also want to just address quickly the the issues that mr singh talked about in terms of dangerous dogs i don't think anybody on this council is going to let that issue rest anywhere we're all very concerned about it very concerned about individuals on certain streets that aren't getting their mail but i think that we have a plan and i know that we've been mr mccarthy you've been in contact with the police department and therefore helping us to formulate a plan as well  it's not anything anyone should be concerned about that the council will forget about because i think it's very important especially to the quality of life issues as well as activities that we want to put a curb on so thank you unprecedented rainfall high winds people that never had water in their basements before had water in their basements people who had pumps were overwhelmed friends of mine in the stockade have basically lost everything they had of the first floor of their home they're now living with neighbors well they're rebuilding in and all those things and yet when i was walking around the art show the greek fest in the talian fest on saturday and i'd run into people from the realized it was an event that no one could have forseen and yet the response from the city certainly met their satisfaction and proud of its intensity it didn't fix everything it couldn't stop the water but it w noble attempt and people noticed and they were thinking as so i just wanted to go on the word with that and i hope we never see such rain again in such great amounts in such a short period of time  is king said last saturday with kind of an amazing respite from all the chaos that the senate was shining and people are out that it was just a wonderful day thank you it was the goal so many other members erickson terms of the pilots from not for profits were in the process of again sending out a request to not for profits to consider making payments to the city and i'm also going to ask them might there be some other way that they could assist the city in providing some service or some function that might offset some of our budgetary cost  e pump station ferry street in the initial hurricane irene flooding was reached and that flooded and was down we ran that and  generator it does not supply any additional houses there was a generator that was put in there as part of the backup it was really impressive response by so our city staff and veolia coming in there and restoring that facility in very quick time for the second flooding event even though the wall was breech we were able to sandbag it and make some temporary repairs to it in the contained within that facility you know for i forgot i want to mention that brian stratton said to say hello to everybody we had a number of conversations late at night and different times during these high water things on the canal corporation and so he isn't quite enjoying his summer as much as he would like at this point but he did want to say hello and wish everybody well the just some  serving declarations and are somewhat factually incorrect the this council who started the process were working with metroplex to clear up the easemen running through alcove so that there is a capacity issue there for waste water and storm water it's going to be an expensive project will be a long project but we have started that in terms of the acquiring easement to be able to do that  i was on scene and directed that it pump be moved we built a slight road around the back of our river street to put a high capacity pump in there to move some of that water out of there when it was building up  do realize that a lot of residents there were inconvenienced that nobody was treated any differently and everybody was treated in an expedited manner in the best way to solve the problem so it had to be staged as you're moving water from one level to another to get it out of there but overall i think that the city residents should be very proud of the service that they got we did operator under a state of emergency in it no time did any employee refuse to command or do anything you know time had to use the executive authority they had closed the bridges in the school buses were staged over in scotia did order the police over to open the bridge and escort the buses back over so that they could take the kids home from school that day which provided i think a lot of relief for a number of parents in the community but i would just compliment everybody as we get a little bit more under our belt and happened in broader dam junction part of the scary valley and other parts of new york state that were there with some areas are still don't have water and others and some of the basics that we're going very lucky and we did have a great weekend with the italian fest and the greek fest saccade art show which went off in spite of the inconvenience and the near by flooding that got that cleaned up and