A Citizen’s Report
on
A Meeting of the Corning City Council
October 7, 2024
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 Councilmember Paterson. Counting City of Corning employees, 21 members of the public were in the audience.
Announcements:
Tonight, Mayor Boland noted, the Corning City Council will primarily consider accepting grant awards. Over the years that Mark Ryckman has been City Manager, the city has received approximately $40 million in this way, lowering the tax burden for its citizens. He congratulated Mr. Ryckman and his staff for finding and working to obtain, these grant funds.
New Business - the Council Unanimously:
Authorized the acceptance of a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) grant for $632,600 to implement green stormwater infrastructure at Denison Park. The city’s investment in the project will be $80,000.
During the public comment period, Daniel Ragland who is a resident living next to Denison Park and who is also actively engaged in the Corning 20%ers Disc Golf Club, spoke passionately in favor of acceptance of the grant. Loss of trees and vegetation and water quality issues in the pond have dramatically changed, he feels, the character and usage of the park. He said that, as they always have, the Corning 20%ers Disc Golf Club will work with the city to revitalize the park and improve its utility for disc golf as well as for all the city’s residents.
For Background: City Manager Ryckman said that this grant is the result of a multi-year effort. He and city staff began it by searching for ways to improve the water quality in the Denison Park Pond. They approached the NFWF. NFWF personnel suggested that the city look at broader, root cause issues, such as drainage into the pond. The city revised its grant application accordingly and, in January 2023, the NFWF approved it, giving $75,000 from its Chesapeake Bay Small Watershed Grant Program for the creation of a stormwater and green infrastructure plan for Denison Park.
With this grant money, the city hired a consultant to find feasible alternatives for improvements and to recommend effective courses of action.
In December 2023, the city accepted a grant of $75,000 from Corning Inc.’s Community Impact & Investment program which directs funds towards projects and programs that enhance the communities in which it plays an important role. This money funded green infrastructure engineering for the Denison Park project.
The $632,600 grant accepted tonight is the implementation phase of the earlier work. It is one of just two NFWF grants awarded this year in the State of New York. Among other things, it will involve the installation of permeable pavement, landscaping, tree planting, and construction of bioretention facilities with the view toward improving water quality and the overall ability of the park to regulate its micro-environment. It’s a project which directly implements the city’s parks strategy.
• Accepted a grant from the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services for Law Enforcement Technology Equipment for $183,500.
Mr. Ryckman explained that this is the third grant that Police Chief Spaulding has received from the state to help her department and the city. This grant is for surveillance system improvements and Crimewatch software which directly addresses needs identified in the city’s police reform strategy. This strategy encouraged the department to find ways to share more information with the public. The software the city is buying allows the sharing of enforcement information online, enables crime maps, and gives up-to-date policing information. In addition, it provides a means for citizens to give police information, making law enforcement a two-way process. 16 states already use it.
Authorized the transfer of $5,000 from the contingency fund to replace the Fire Department’s bunker gear commercial extractor.
For Background: “Every day, thousands of fires rage across the country. These fires can range in severity from a grease fire to a wildfire. However, time and time again, brave firemen and firewomen selflessly run towards the things everyone else is running from. However, the danger does not stop once the fire is extinguished. Deadly carcinogens attach themselves to turnout and bunker gear and bring danger to the station, and occasionally, the home. Eliminating these deadly carcinogens is crucial to every fire department across the country. Utilizing an NFPA-compliant turnout gear extractor is the first step toward properly handling contaminated bunker and turnout gear. “
Taken from an article appearing on the website for Advantage Equipment, Inc.
Approved the appointment of Joseph Citriniti to the Board of Assessment Review for a term ending September 30, 2029.
Accepted a grant for $500 from the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee to implement a child passenger safety program.
Accepted an award of $2,419.71 from the United States Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance for replacing bulletproof vests.
Accepted a grant from the Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee in the following amounts: For police traffic services, $13,522; and for seatbelt mobilization enforcement, $4.733.
Accepted a donation from Crystal City Police Benevolent Association of $1,169 to reimburse the city for the purchase of a canine dog kennel.
Committee Reports
The Code Committee discussed disabled parking access, an issue raised by a concerned citizen at the last Council meeting. The committee also discussed fees for garbage collection, adjusting the structure for imposing fines for attachments to trailers, and the creation of a public art ordinance. The latter is a first step to fully implement the city’s public art strategy. Mayor Boland hopes to have a recommendation for a public art ordinance ready to bring to the Council in December.
Announcements – Mayor and Councilmembers
On September 23, 2024. Mayor Boland and Mayor Buckley of Hornell spoke at a meeting of the Steuben County Legislature. They presented a joint statement for the record describing their belief that mental health issues often start a sequence of events that cause other serious problems in society. They said that there are 61 mental health positions within the Steuben County government and 14 of them are vacant. Their research leads them to conclude that these positions are vacant due to lower-than-competitive salaries paid by the County compared to the private sector. If salaries increased by $5,000 for each of the 61 positions, they would be competitive. The mayors asked the County to re-adjust salaries for their mental health professionals.
Councilmember Coccho presented various documents from the early 1900s to the City of Corning for its historical archives.
Councilmember Hyde reported that the Southeast Steuben County Library will be the site for early and election-day voting.
Visitor’s Comments
A businessperson said that the amount of public presence and enthusiasm for the Wineglass Marathon is significantly different before and after the finish line. He renewed his request, first made several years ago, that the city move the finish line westward to encompass all the businesses on Market Street.
A member of the public who identified himself as a Christian, a Conservative, and a supporter of Donald Trump, excoriated the Council, particularly members of the Council identified as Democrats, for allowing books concerning LGBTQ+ issues to be available in the children's section of the Southeast Steuben County Library where they could be accessed by his 12-year-old daughter. He also accused the Democrats on the Council of indoctrinating children and the Democrats in Washington for spending FEMA money on illegal immigrants. At one point he was cautioned not to use curse words in his presentation. After his remarks, Mayor Boland reminded the citizen that the Council has no authority over the library, its funding, or its operation. He suggested that the citizen direct his comments to library officials. Councilmember Hyde also offered to meet with the citizen after the meeting to provide appropriate context for the issue raised.
Emergency Measure
The Corning City Fire Department has exhausted all means to keep the old heating system in their truck bays working. The city has kept financial reserves in a variety of areas to enable it to meet these emergencies. The Council unanimously voted to replace the heating plant in the Fire Department truck bays.
There being no other business, Mayor Boland adjourned the meeting at 7:04 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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