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City of the Mayor and Council of New Castle Present: Absent: Also present: Approval of Minutes by Date-- A motion was made by Councilperson Reese to accept the minutes as presented, for October 9 (Public Hearing and Regular Meeting). It was seconded by Councilperson Gaworski and passed unanimously. Approval of Treasurer’s Report—City Treasurer Janet Carlin stated that there was $400.00 in petty cash on hand, $555,488.91 total monthly deposits, $425,850.02 total cash in the Wilmington Trust Accounts, $2,451,296.20 in the Certificates of Deposits and De. Government Investment Pool and $2,877,146.22 total cash on hand. A motion was made by Councilperson Reese to accept the Treasurer’s Report as presented. It was seconded by Councilperson Churchill and passed unanimously. Report from City Administrator—Mrs. Thomas stated that her report was in Council’s packet, and also mentioned that the City has implemented a new recycling plan. Approval of Staff Reports—The Police Report is part of Council’s package as well as the Public Works’ report. Councilperson Reese stated that any of the staff reports are available at the City office. A motion was made by Councilperson Reese to accept the staff reports as presented. It was seconded by Councilperson Churchill and passed unanimously. Grant Review Two grant requests for the Police Department were submitted in October for a 55” HDTV for the police community room and supplies to fingerprint children. On October 1, 2007 the City deposited an additional $100,000 received for the Bellanca project and paid $39,577.75 in Bellanca invoices for Phase I work. The City received $62,161.79 from the Municipal Street Aid Funds from the State. Communications A letter from Ms. Debby Pullan to the Council was read. Ms. Pullan noted the Council will be considering a sizeable contribution of City tax dollars to help fund the library renovation/expansion project. Ms. Pullan stated she believed a higher priority for funding from the City should be provision of City-paid health insurance benefits for New Castle City retired employees. Ms. Pullan serves as President of the AFSCME Union, representing the blue- and white-collar workers in the City. It was noted the City Council will host a special forum concerning the Freedom of Information Act on December 5 at 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall. Councilperson Reese stated that Councilperson Petty and the Mayor were unavailable for tonight’s meeting because they were at a National League of Cities Conference in New Orleans. Business from the Floor Mr. Mike Heyman stated that he was in favor of the Council hosting the forum on the Freedom on Information Act and he encouraged all citizens to attend. Mr. Chris Cashman spoke on behalf of the Library Committee. The Library has had virtually no updates since it was built in 1965. It needs more shelves, more books, wider aisles, room for DVD’s, CD’s, MP3 players, etc. It also is not ADA compliant. There is limited space for computers. There is also a need for a larger children’s area and ideally they would like to develop an area for teens. The total cost for the project is $6 million. The State will contribute approximately half of the project costs, or $3 million, but the Library Board needs to match that contribution. The Trustees of the New Castle Common have contributed $331,000 so far. The Family Academy will raise funds for the project. They are asking $300,000 or 5% of the total project cost to be contributed from the City. Business from the Mayor None. Business from Council President None. Unfinished Business 1. First and second reading of Ordinance No. 455, a proposal to increase income eligibility limits for persons to receive tax exemptions where those eligible would also have to be either disabled or over 65 years of age. Councilperson Churchill read the Ordinance for the first and second time. New Business 1. Discussion of a request from the Library Board for a contribution from the City to fund an addition to the Library and Motion and Vote on Resolution No. 2007-37 in response to said request. Council President Blest read the Resolution. Councilperson Reese moved that the Motion be adopted. No one seconded the Motion and it died for lack of a second. The Council agreed that the matter could be discussed, even though no motion was on the table. Councilperson Gaworski stated that he felt Council needed to review the City’s finances closer before agreeing to contribute to the Library fund. Councilperson Gaworski was agreeable to contributing, but said he felt that the City could not currently do this. It needs to be a budget item and should have been requested when Council was considering their budget. Councilperson Churchill agreed with Councilperson Gaworski. Councilperson Churchill stated that there were other City concerns that need financial assistance from the City. Councilperson Reese said he favored the contribution, and that it could mean a modest tax increase of $.06, which for a house like his would be about $42, and further that it was for a short, limited time – only three years. Council President Blest stated that he spoke with Councilperson Petty and she was opposed to passing the Resolution as this item needs to budgeted. Mr. Cashman stated that they were not looking for funds immediately, but that they were looking for Council to budget funds in the future budgets. Mr. Corky Viola gave a history on the Library and stated that the Trustees have previously funded the entire cost of the Library. Mr. Viola stated that the Board did not approach Council during the budget process because they had no clear cut amount at that time and felt it would be irresponsible to request an amount when they did not know how much to request. Now they are asking for a non-binding $300,000 pledge from the City over three years. Dick Evans stated that he likes the idea for a non-binding pledge. He also stated that if the other money did not come through, i.e., from the State, County, etc., the Library Board would not expect the City Council make the contribution. Councilperson Churchill made a motion to table this item until next month so the Resolution could be reworded. Councilperson Gaworski seconded the motion. All Council members voted in favor, with the exception of Councilperson Reese who cast a Nay vote. 2. Discussion of a possible Charter change to allow the City to levy special assessments on properties which utilize an inordinate level of City services or which may be in need of major capital improvements where specific properties would be the main beneficiaries of said improvements. City Solicitor Roger Akin gave an overview of the possible changes. He cited businesses like the Farmer’s Market using an inordinate amount of City resources such as police services. This would mean Council would request from the General Assembly the right to assess such businesses. Mr. Richard Stack spoke on behalf of the Farmer’s Market. He asked if this applied to current services or services to be provided in the future and which commercial properties are being assessed. Councilperson Reese stated that he was concerned about police resources and road work. Council was in agreement that Mr. Akin should move forward with researching this item and it will be continued at the next Council meeting. 3. Motion, Discussion and Vote on Resolution No. 2007-36 approving a subdivision in the vicinity of McIntyre Drive and Washington Avenue. Councilperson Gaworski read the Resolution. Councilperson Reese made a Motion that the Resolution be passed. Councilperson Churchill seconded the Motion. Resolution passed unanimously. 4. Discussion to schedule a public hearing to consider proposed Ordinance No. 456 approving a major subdivision in the vicinity of 9th and School Sts. A public hearing was scheduled for December 11 at 6:30 p.m. 5. Motion, Discussion and Vote on Resolution No. 2007-38, approving an amendment to the All Hazard Mitigation Plan for the City, to include repairs to the tide gate in the vicinity of the Buttonwood subdivision. Councilperson Gaworski read the Resolution. Councilperson Reese made a Motion to accept the Resolution. Councilperson Churchill seconded the Motion and it passed unanimously. 6. Comments from the Floor. Earl Carpenter asked for an update on the Buttonwood drainage project. Council President Blest stated that it was almost completed. 7. A motion was made by Councilperson Churchill and seconded by Councilperson Reese and passed unanimously to go to Executive Session. The meeting adjourned at 8:21 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Jill DiAngelo |
