A Citizen’s Report
on
A Public Hearing
and on
A Meeting of the Corning City Council
January 6, 2025
PUBLIC HEARING
The Council for the City of Corning, New York held a public hearing at 6:15 p.m. at Council Chambers, Civic Center Plaza, Corning, New York.
All Councilmembers attended the hearing except Mayor Boland and Councilmember ReSue. Counting City of Corning employees, 15 members of the public attended. Deputy Mayor Hunt presided.
The purpose of the public hearing is to obtain the views of the citizenry on proposed Local Law #1 of 2025 to Amend Chapter 76 of the Code of the City of Corning entitled “Building Construction and Fire Prevention.”
Background:
The authors of the proposed Public Law describe it as a law needed to comply with New York State Executive Law §381 and 19 NYCRR Part 1203.
§381 of the Executive Law directed the Secretary of State to promulgate rules and regulations for administration of the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code and the New York State Energy Conservation Construction Code. The new rules set minimum standards for administration and enforcement which are a part of proposed Public Law #1 of 2025
A property owner in the City of Corning expressed her delight that the city was changing its fire code to synchronize more closely with the requirements of the State of New York.
There were no other comments and the Deputy Mayor closed the hearing.
MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL
The Council for the City of Corning, New York held its regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. at Council Chambers, Civic Center Plaza, Corning, New York.
All Councilmembers attended the meeting except Mayor Boland and Councilmember ReSue. Counting City of Corning employees, 19 members of the public were in the audience. Deputy Mayor Hunt presided.
New Business - The appointment of Councilmember Jeff Clark as Deputy Mayor for a term ending December 25, 2025.
Deputy Mayor Hunt said that she is honored to have held the position of Deputy Mayor for three years. She feels that it is time for someone else to have this position and supports Councilmember Clark.
Councilmember Clark said that he deeply appreciates the conversations he has had with Deputy Mayor Hunt and Mayor Boland concerning this transition. It is a great honor should the Council agree to appoint him as Deputy Mayor.
Thereafter the Council unanimously appointed of Councilmember Jeff Clark as Deputy Mayor for a term ending December 25, 2025.
New Business – Local Law #1 of 2025 to Amend Chapter 76 of the Code of the City of Corning entitled “Building Construction and Fire Prevention.”
Councilmember Hyde thanked Steve McDaniel, head of code enforcement in the city, for his clear and thorough explanation to the Code Committee of the proposed changes to the code.
Councilmember Muccini had difficulty in expressing his views. It is uncertain what he was trying to convey but it seemed as though he opposed the proposed local law because it gave too much authority to the code enforcement officer, Steve McDaniel.
City Manager Ryckman responded that the duties of the code enforcement officer mirror those of other similarly placed personnel, not only in the State of New York, but generally throughout the country. He explained that the State of New York mandated from 95 to 99 percent of the proposed changes in the code and adopting them puts Corning in synchronicity with the state requirements.
By a vote of six ayes and one nay, with Councilmember Muccini voting nay, the Council adopted Local Law #1 of 2025 to Amend Chapter 76 of the Code of the City of Corning entitled “Building Construction and Fire Prevention.” Readers can find the local law here.
New Business – Additional Money for the Spay and Neuter Program
During the visitors’ comment period on agenda items, a member of the public thanked the city for dedicating resources to a cat spay and neuter program, the use of which she described as needing to grow apace with the growing problem of feral cats.
Mr. Ryckman thanked Councilmembers Clark and Paterson for their leadership in starting the program. He thanked Corning City Clerk, Mary Farmer, and her staff for their unstinting help to members of the public as they navigate the paperwork requirements. He also thanked members of the public, like the person who spoke, for volunteering to help others to understand and use the program.
To date the program has spayed or neutered 312 cats. In addition, the cats receive distemper and rabies vaccinations. Particularly the rabies vaccination is important to the good of the city because, periodically, rabies has been an issue here. For all these services, the SPCA charges a bit more than $100 per cat.
Thereafter, the Council unanimously authorized a transfer of $8,000 from the Contingency Fund to Animal Control for the Spay and Neuter Program.
New Business - ARC’s 4 BEE LLC (d/b/a The Chatterbox) Request to Waive the 30-day Municipal Notice Requirement for its Application for an On-premises Alcoholic Beverage License
Councilmember Hyde said that the purpose of this 30-day requirement is to allow members of the public to voice opinions about whether the Council should allow a business to offer on-premises liquor at a particular location. He doesn’t know exactly the time involved, but he speculates that it must have taken this business some number of days just to get this waiver resolution on the agenda. Yet no one from the business bothered to show up to explain why the Council should waive the notice period. He understands that the business location involved here previously had an on-premises license, so it may not be so important to have a notice period. Still, he wonders about the process which allows these waivers.
Thereafter the Council unanimously approved the request of ARC’s 4 BEE LLC (d/b/a The Chatterbox) on 88 Steuben Street to waive the 30-day municipal notice requirement regarding its application to the New York State Liquor Authority for an On-premises Alcoholic Beverage License
New Business - the Council Unanimously and Without Discussion:
Authorized a local match of $133,400 if the Susquehanna River Commission awards the city a grant of $500,000 for an automated water metering system to improve data collection and to identify water system leaks.
Amended the Code of the City of Corning to incorporate a new fee schedule for building fee permits and miscellaneous fees.
Authorized the City Manager to negotiate an easement agreement with Hong Ky Nguyen and Thu Tran for encroachments for on Burmese Lane East due to improvements. Hong Ky Nguyen and Thu Tran will be responsible for all costs and fees.
Approved the designation of The Leader as the city’s official newspaper.
Approved six financial institutions to hold accounts for the city.
Authorized the Deputy Registrar to issue wedding licenses in the absence of the City Clerk/Registrar.
Approved the appointment of Jacqueline Towers as a full member of the Planning Commission for a term ending December 31, 2029.
Approved the reappointed Hilda Lando to the Steuben County Board of Health for a period ending December 31, 2029.
Approved the reappointment of Ken Leath to the Zoning Board of Appeals for a term ending December 31, 2029.
Visitors’ Comments
Hilda Lando, Steuben County Legislator representing the City of Corning reported that:
She has nothing positive to say about the new Steuben County ordinance intended to regulate unlicensed retail purveyors of cannabis known as “sticker shops.” It appears that, as soon as the county closes them, they reopen. The New York State Office of Cannabis Management has not been cooperative in enforcement efforts. She hopes that the experience will move the county to change its enforcement mechanism.
The county will publish a request for proposals to update the county’s Hazard Mitigation Action Plan. She hopes that the City of Corning and other municipalities will buy into the new plan.
The county approved an in-network provider for EMS services.
The sheriff updated the Legislature on the status of the police reform plan. The county has made a great deal of progress on the 44 recommendations. The county might not be able to accomplish four due to cost factors.
The PFAS meeting, which gathered experts from various disciplines to figure out the extent of the risk for PFAS exposure in the county and get a handle on the problem, did not reach a solution. The county will continue working toward a plan.
The Bridge of Hope, the first floor of the former Lando building, is a community center. The county allocated $107,000 from Opioid Settlement money to pay the costs of a manager and equipment for the center.
The county has a new County Attorney, Tim Rosell of Hornell.
Short-term rental assessments have resulted in funds which the county will award on a competitive application basis to proposals to increase tourism in the county.
Announcements – Mayor and Councilmembers
Deputy Mayor Hunt expressed the wishes of Mayor Boland and Councilmember ReSue for a Happy New Year and explained that both were absent due to illness.
Councilmember Clark thanked the City of Corning’s Fire Department and first responders for their fast and professional response to two fires in his ward, both of which posed, but for the response, serious risks to home occupants.
The meeting adjourned at 7:00 p.m.
NOTES
The writer of this report has presented items in an order different than that in which they occurred at the meeting.
The writer has, except as specifically noted, amended, or eliminated comments and attribution for them. Unless quotation marks are used, the comments reported are not verbatim.
For brevity, the writer has not included all items on the agenda of the meeting.
Some material has been added by the writer for context or clarity and where it is extensive, is labeled “Background.”
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