On Sunday, September 2^nd at 12:30 in front of city hall, Cynthia Nixon will appear at a rally in support of her campaign for the Democratic line for governor against Andrew Cuomo.

 

 

The New York Times ran a story in the August 23^rd edition about  Facebook taking down pages of sites they allege were anonymously created by Iran and Russia among others.  In the print edition they had some samples from the pages they removed.  One page was sponsored by “The British Left” while another was from a sponsor “Free Scotland.”  This stuff is very good.  Why hide behind a fake name?

 

<<photos>>

 

Saratogians will have two separate charter votes on the November ballot.

One will be a yes or no vote on the changes proposed to make the current commission form of government operate more efficiently. These changes include some routine cleaning up of confusing language but also reorganizing some departmental functions and responsibilities. One of the more significant proposals is to give council members the power to approve a mayor’s appointments to land use boards.  Currently the mayor has the sole power to make these appointments.

The second vote will be an opportunity to vote yes or no on the proposal to add two members to the city council who would have no administrative responsibilities. According to the charter commission’s lawyer changing the make up of the council requires a separate ballot item.

The vote by the charter commission to accept the changes was unanimous but before the vote commissioners had some differences over whether the two new council members should be the city’s county supervisors. Some members also expressed reservations over the wisdom of adding two council members who would not have departmental responsibilities. What was interesting to watch was the thoughtful and civil way these charter commission members worked through their differences and arrived at consensus. Different positions were thoughtfully presented and listened to, the validity of arguments acknowledged even when disagreed with.

Here is a link to the Gazette story.

Here is a link to the Saratogian story.

 

 

 

I sat down with  Commissioner of Finance  Michele Madigan’s deputy Michael Sharp to better understand the agreement between the city and SiFi.  SiFi is the company that the city has contracted with to build a fiber optic network throughout the city.

As a preface let me say that Michael Sharp is not only extraordinarily knowledgeable about the city’s finances and operations in general but is also just a very nice person.  Those cynics out there who carp about public employees would benefit from spending some time with Michael to learn that there are some exceptional employees in our city.

So the first thing to understand is that Spectrum will continue to serve the city.  More on the significance of this later.

SiFi has agreed to lay fiber optic cable so that it will be accessible to every home and business in the city.

Currently, the speed of Spectrum’s service varies depending upon where you live.  The speed of SiFi will be much faster and consistent throughout the city.

Spectrum’s design has two published speeds.  One speed is for downloading data/streams and the other is for uploading.  Currently their website offers three options.  They are 100/10, 400/20, and 940/35.  The first number is the speed of the download and the second is for the upload.  SiFi intends to offer service at a rate of 1 Gig both for uploading and downloading.

SiFi uses fiber optic method which uses light as the vehicle for carrying data.  As “speed of light” suggests, this not only has greater speed now but is the vehicle for greater speeds in the future.

Mike was kind enough to email me a follow-up on this:

As we discussed, as I understand it Spectrum’s internet speed capabilities differ across the City. So any City-wide comparison may be tough.  Regarding SiFi, they have discussed offering symmetrical gig speed, meaning 1GB both download and upload. Regarding upload speed, it is becoming increasingly important as people share high-definition pictures & videos, stream their own content, and utilize data heavy applications such as virtual reality, and as businesses upload content for clients, their own websites, and data recovery.

Commissioner Madigan is correct that fiber optic cable actually allows for significantly faster speeds, as it is light being transmitted over the cable. The future ability for speeds far in excess of 1GB is part of the reason we’re comfortable with the length of the contract, as this isn’t just cutting edge technology today, but will be for years to come.

Issue of ISP

In order to access the web, a user needs more than access to a cable, there must be what is known as an ISP (Internet Service Provider).  An ISP handles the method by which the user accesses the web.  This involves many issues.  For example, what resources the ISP makes available.  For example, Spectrum, in addition to access to the web,  provides cable TV and phone services.

It is important to note that the ISP is a potential bottle neck.  While the proposed fiber optic cable offers 1Gig rate, if the ISP is for some reason sending data over this cable at a slower rate than the 1Gig rate then the potential fiber optic speed would not be a factor. The upside to this is that not every customer wants, or wants to pay for, 1 Gig speed, so a SiFi ISP may offer a lower speed connection for a cheaper price.

Currently, Spectrum offers a full range of video that includes local television stations.  Unfortunately, as far as I know, there is no way of accessing the evening news or many other television programs via a website.  So while websites such as the one supported by WNYT (Channel 13 news) has most of its stories on line, the actual broadcast is not.  As there is currently no ISP for SiFi, it remains to be seen whether they are going to provide cable services that would include local television stations.

It seems reasonable to expect that in order to compete with Spectrum, an ISP working with SiFi would want to provide similar services.

SiFi has told the city that they are hoping to get at least two ISPs offering services through their cable.

The business model planned by SiFi is to charge the ISP for using the network.  It is anticipated that the ISPs will incorporate that cost in the fees it will charge those who subscribe to their service (us).  So at this point we have no idea what services will be provided or what the cost will be.

There are several things to consider about this.

SiFi would not be making the investment in infrastructure if they did not have confidence that there would be an ISP interested in their network.  Secondly, SiFi will need to provide an affordable service to be financially viable.  There is the possibility that in order to get rid of Spectrum, their competitor, they might charge a very low fee at the beginning.  Still, even if they eliminated Spectrum, they would still need to provide their service at a fee that would be attractive.  Bear in mind that Spectrum has enjoyed a monopoly and while their fees are considerable, they have still been attractive enough to maintain a large base of users.

The ISP, not SiFi, would be responsible for hooking up the homes and businesses of users to the SiFi network.  There would likely be a fee for doing this in addition to whatever ongoing charges there might be to use the service.

Currently, according to the Spectrum web site, Spectrum’s Standard and Ultra Installation Fee is $49.99, while the Spectrum Gig Installation Fee is $199.99.  I am not sure what all that entails.

SiFi has agreements with Salem, Massachusetts and East Hartford, Connecticut.  Both are recent agreements and these communities are apparently a long way from the actual services.

The central factor for deploying cable is density.  In order to make the project financially viable there must be a concentration of potential users.  The potential of a project for a company like SiFi is density.  Mike told me that downstate there are already competitive networks serving the same areas such as New York City and the suburbs.  Westchester, for instance, is supporting both Verizon FIOS and Optimum.

As far as we know, there is no comparable fiber network for communities of our size.

Mike explained to me that Commissioner Madigan, city attorney Vince DeLeonardis, and he worked on the negotiations with SiFi, along with City employees from DPW, Engineering, and IT.  He told me that they received excellent technical support from NYSTEC which is a not for profit that receives substantial funding from New York State in a addition to other grants and contracts to work with local governments and non-profits.

In their agreement, SiFi agreed to split the costs of a city position that would play the role of liaison with SiFi during the construction phase.

The agreement requires that the SiFi network be fully functional within 48 months.  As I understand it, SiFi plans to go operational incrementally as they deploy their network.

New technology allows them to dig a narrow and fairly shallow trench along the city’s right of ways and then cover it.  This technology means that they can do the deployment relatively quickly.

I view this project with great optimism.  Having fiber optic cable as a resource will add to the quality of life for the residents of the city and make businesses more competitive.

 

This is a link to the WNYT video of their tour of city hall to inspect the damage from the fire caused by a lightning strike last week.

https://wnyt.com/news/city-hall-repairs-saratoga-springs/5047190/?cat=10114

The Charter Review Commission will meet at 3PM Tuesday, August 28, in the Dutcher Room on the main floor of the Saratoga Springs Library.

The Commission will be voting on proposed changes in the charter including adding two additional at- large members with no administrative responsibilities to the Council.

There will be time for public comments at the beginning and end of the meeting.

The draft the Commission will be voting on is available for review at

https://www.saratoga-springs.org/DocumentCenter/View/8539/2018-Draft-Charter

 

 

I received this release from the mayor’s office notifying the community of the locations and hours for city services while the salvaging of city hall continues.

---

FOR RELEASE:

Immediately

FROM THE OFFICE OF MAYOR MEG KELLY

Contact: Meg Kelly, Mayor (518) 226-9250

UPDATE: City Hall Operations

The City continues to operate in accordance with its Emergency Management Plan, and Quick Response is in the process of deactivating at 474 Broadway. Although telephone access is not completely restored, non-emergency messages can be left at the main number (518) 587-3550 and also at individual extensions, and voicemails will be forwarded as appropriate.

City Hall offices and operations have now been relocated as follows:

City Recreation Center, 15 Vanderbilt Avenue

 

Planning Department Building Department City Clerk Tax Collection/Receivables Utilities (Water and Sewer)

Parking Tickets Engineering Licensing and Vital Records Assessments Civil Service

 

The offices above are available to the public during normal City Hall business hours (9-5 M; 9- 4:30 T-F). The administrative and business offices for the Departments of Finance, Accounts, Public Works and the Mayor’s office are also located at the Recreation Center.

The Mill, 125 High Rock Avenue

Police command personnel, City Legal staff, Commissioners of Finance and Public Safety and Deputies of Finance and Public Safety will be located here.

Lake Avenue Fire Station, 60 Lake Avenue

Code Enforcement, the administrative offices for Public Safety, and the Risk and Safety office are located here.

The Police Department continue its operations at 5 Lake Avenue. The Fire Department continues its operations at Fires Stations 1 and 2, located at 60 Lake Avenue and 166 West Avenue, respectively.

We will continue to provide regular updates. Thank you for your support and patience.

It has now been more than six months since Meg Kelly became mayor.  In my own assessment, she has shown extraordinary leadership.  Prior to her tenure the council had been plagued by contentious meetings that ran on interminably.  Under the mayor, the meetings are run efficiently in the best sense.  They are not only collegial and much shorter, but the important issues are not lost as a result of unnecessary conflicts and rambling, unfocused reports.

The value of her leadership is best expressed by the quality of the work being done by her Charter Review Commission.  It is interesting that the mayor’s decision not to be on the commission probably contributed to the collegial nature of the commissions deliberations.  It sent a message that revising the existing charter should not be marred by petty issues of control.  Her appointment of Vince DeLeonardis added to this.  In the past, city attorneys often functioned as a kind of weapon by mayors.  In the case of Mr. DeLeonardis, his fairness and probity has established real trust among the commissioners.

I have edited out a section from a video of a recent meeting.  This excerpt focuses on how the IT (Information Technology) should operate within the structure of the city.  The discussion explores the idea of establishing IT as an distinct department potentially outside of the Finance Office where it now resides.  It would not have been surprising if this discussion were marred by resistance from Commissioner Madigan and her deputy, Mike Sharp over the loss.  Instead, the proposal to reconsider the issue of IT is initiated by Sharp.

The video is not terribly dramatic but that is because of the thoughtfulness and lack of grandstanding in the discussion.  Around the table are representatives of all the city’s departments including three of the commissioners themselves.  The viewer will note that everyone participates in the discussion and their comments and suggestions are thoughtful and representative of the well grounded knowledge of how the city operates.

Upcoming Hearing

The Charter Review Commission will be holding a hearing on Tuesday, August 21^st at the City Center (the event had to be moved due to the fire.  Below is a press release from the city:

MEDIA ANNOUNCEMENT 2018 CHARTER REVIEW COMMISSION CITY OF SARATOGA SPRINGS

City Attorney Vincent J. DeLeonardis Charter Review Commission Chairman vincent.deleonardis@saratoga-springs.org

518-587-3550 x2414

MEDIA ANNOUNCEMENT: 2018 Charter Review Commission Update Date:     August 15, 2018

 Saratoga Springs, NY — The 2018 Charter Review Commission (“CRC”) will hold its second public Forum on Tuesday August 21^th at 6pm in the City Council Room, during the regularly scheduled City Council meeting. The purpose of this Forum is for Commission members to hear input, concerns, and questions from City voters on the proposed Charter crafted by the CRC over the past several months. The current draft is available for review on the City website. At the start for the Forum, the CRC will present the results of a recent survey completed regarding the proposed expansion of the City Council from five to seven members. For those unable to attend in-person, the Forum can be watched via the City website.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a link to the David Lombardo story from the Times Union on Friday night’s city hall fire.  Apparently, while the fire was quickly contained, the smoke and water damage was extensive to the Lake Avenue side of the building.  This included the city council chambers.  The damage was sufficiently severe that city hall will be closed on Monday and meetings of the council are being moved to other locations. The Council’s Monday morning pre-agenda meeting will be held at 9:30 at the Rec Center. Tuesday’s City Council meeting will be at the City Center including the Charter Review  Commission’s public hearing which will begin at 6PM. Any further changes will be posted on the city website.

 I understand that the members of the council have risen to this occasion by working closely to develop short term plans about where to relocate the staff of offices that were particularly severely damaged.  They have established an emergency task force to help manage the crisis. Public Safety Commissioner Peter Martin told Lombardo that while the city is insured, the cost of addressing the damage will be substantial, especially in light of the fact that city hall is an historic building.

 

 

Lightning struck city hall and started a fire.  The fire was contained but apparently there was some water damage.