Sorry, thank you.

Good afternoon, everybody.

We're gonna about to start our study session.

Okay, the mics are on.

Can you hear me now?

Okay, I'll get everything.

Oh, so let's see.

We have Council Majok.

Thank you, Madam President.

I have item nine A.

And it is ready.

Okay.

Thank you.

And do we have any resolutions?

For today, no.

Okay.

Thank you.

No.

It'll be withdrawn.

Councilor McGuck again.

Thank you.

Um the item.

I don't I don't think we need to hold um actually after the public hearing today, the two public hearings.

1314, we should be good, right?

Yeah, after a public hearing.

All right.

Okay, so how are you doing?

Uh they are ready.

We the 1213 will be ready after after public hearing today.

Okay, we'll be ready.

Item 11 is ready.

Um everything, everything else, everything is ready.

Yeah.

So if he's ready, and then we'll from 11 to 28.

Hola, ready.

Okay.

Anybody with questions?

All right.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Counselor Aaron Rick.

That was fast.

Thank you, Madam President.

I have items 29.

Through 12 million.

Through 43.

Oh my god.

I believe that they are all ready.

People have questions.

Are you okay, Donna?

Yep.

Okay.

Any questions?

All right, moving on.

Thank you, Counselor.

Hudson.

Thank you, madam president.

I might as well go through them all at once, because I'm right behind that.

So I have item 44.

That one's ready.

45, 46, 47 is ready.

48, 49, 51, being held, and 50 is ready.

Okay, wait.

48, 49, 51.

I hope you're holding, yes.

Okay.

And counselor, I apologize not being able to make the reading this morning.

Could you give the the council for those of us that weren't here?

Maybe a two-minute update on what happened and what transpired.

Did you give out the handouts?

Because we have some handouts.

From Vinny.

There it is.

Great.

You said 50 is thank you.

You could bring Vinny and summarize the conversation.

Vinny, can you come up?

Where is Vinny?

Oh, hi Vinny.

Again, my apologies for not being able to attend.

No worries.

Hi, Counselor's Vinny Skipion, Chief Information Officer.

Um committee meeting this morning to discuss uh a couple of topics, including our uh Microsoft 365 utilization uh as well as uh the legislation legislation items uh on this docket here.

Um went over uh some just short-term long-term planning uh expenditures associated with doing so.

Um yeah, happy to answer any uh follow-up questions anyone might have.

Thank you.

And if you're comfortable with everything, I'm comfortable with it, and we're looking at quarterly reports on the information that they're putting forth.

So yeah.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

All right, thanks very much.

Thanks, everyone.

Counselor, you say 50 is ready.

Yes, okay.

Okay, we'll say yeah, okay.

Councilor Moore.

Thank you, madam president.

I have items 52 through 66.

Unless there's any questions, they are ready.

All right, moving on.

You it's you're up again.

Oh, yeah, sorry.

Um item 67 is also ready.

It's for an honorary sign.

Okay.

Counselor Williams.

Thank you, Madam Presidents.

Um, I have items 68 through 76.

I'm looking at Councillor Monto's book here, and I can't quite make out his local law and the one associated with it is gonna be out.

All right, so both uh we're gonna introduce the table 68.

We're gonna hold 69, we're gonna hold 70.

And from there the remainder should be ready.

So after so from 71 already.

71 to 76 already, yep.

Yep.

So what are you doing with 70?

Uh holding.

Yep, I'll introduce the table 68, then hold, hold, and 71 and beyond are ready.

Thank you very much.

All right.

Uh Council of Culkland.

Thank you, Madam President.

Blessings to all today.

I have item 77.

This is honorary sign.

I'm from Ms.

Jackson, a long time resident and community, and it's all set and ready.

Um, but I also want to say oh Nick's, and I'm putting it out there.

Brunson family is from Syracuse, his mom, his grandmother, his bot, his uncles, his aunts are all still here.

They're honorary people, they're phenomenal people, do a lot in the community.

So I want to say I wore my orange.

I think that's why I'm already wore his orange and blue too.

We're go nick.

Let's go, Jalen.

Here we go.

All right, let's go.

Thank you.

Counselor Jones Rowser.

Madam President, I have item 78.

Um, that item is ready.

Thank you, President Paniagua.

I have items 79 through 81, and those are ready.

I have some questions about item number 80.

Okay.

Um, yeah, oh, there he is.

Hi.

Afternoon, Eric on us, mayor's office.

Yes, counselor.

Okay.

Could you give me some more background about what the energy center is, what technology I heard understand that it's a thermal exchange technology, not geothermal specifically.

Does it have wastewater?

Is that going to be channeled back into our wastewater systems with the county?

What is it located?

I mean, I understand the I got the schematics, but like what does that mean functionally in terms of floodplain areas, access, etc.

So I'll preface my comment to say I'm I'm not the complete subject matter expert on this, but I want to make sure I'm at least able to get some more background.

Um this is uh an effort that National Grid and other partners have been coordinating on for quite some time in in the inner harbor in the lakefront neighborhood.

And so, as my understanding is that it is similar to a geothermal program in which there is um currently heat energy that is being given off by the wastewater treatment facility, and so this is an opportunity to repurpose some of that energy that directly provides, and there is a dedicated geographic loop that will go through different streets within the lakefront neighborhood.

This being one of the um locations and sites that we have the ability to then um tap into as part of projects that are in the pipeline within the inner harbor area.

So this is right now essentially energy um that is not being utilized for any sort of productive purpose.

This has the ability to funnel and channel that into four private projects to properties located within the immediate surrounding areas that can really tap into this as more of a geothermal and sustainable resource to heat these buildings.

And it's coming before the city's planning because it's city-owned land, even though the wastewater treatment plant in this particular instance it is, and what I will confirm, and I can get you this information before one o'clock is I this was brought before um the planning commission.

Planning commission ultimately opted to move forward with it because it was under the special permit.

Um it is not something that necessitates a special permit under based on how it's classified as a utility project.

Then from there, as a new special permit, it has to come before this body.

So it was approved and passed by the planning commission, and then with all the plans and schematics that you reference, and then it has to come before the council for approval.

And just so I'm clear with how the mechanics work, the heat is generated by a publicly owned wastewater treatment plant, but national grid is going to capture it and then resell it back to city residents who live in the local area as part of their utility.

That I can't as definitively answer or confirm.

I think it is essentially I know that it is energy that is not being repurposed or used at the moment, and I'll I'll defer to Commissioner Collins.

I think the reuse purpose is beautiful, but it is essentially a commercial use of energy generated through the wastewater treatment plant's heat.

Yeah.

Yeah, I uh so but I would say my level of expertise on this may be one degree higher uh than Eric's.

Uh so I I understand the way that you're looking at it, the end result is expected to be a 20% to 40% savings for the buildings that do tap into it.

So in the end, this is uh a way to use that publicly um basically probably the the energy that is uh produced out of the wastewater plant uh to lower the utility bills for the buildings that are attached to it rather than uh rather than increase.

Okay, I I just so this is I just want to so we believe that there's preferential pricing in there somewhere, and or cheaper energy rates similar to solar or what okra produces for their energy generation.

I uh I I think a uh solar or wind is a uh reasonable comparison uh in in a in a very broad sense in the fact that this is energy that is naturally produced uh through I shouldn't say naturally produced, but it's produced through an already existing process.

Right.

And so rather than just release it into the lake, let's loop it around the inner harbor and allow the uh the buildings that will come in the future in that area to be able to tap into it to reduce um uh basically the the draw on the grid and uh since many of those I the utilities almost always go to the occupant, it's not necessarily the developer that's that's benefiting as much as it is uh as it is the occupant of the space.

From what I'm hearing about the science, it's beautiful.

I just want to understand kind of where the public subsidy is for the private profits of the utility.

And and now we've gone over my expertise.

All right, thank you very much.

I appreciate you.

Sure.

And my just just on this, I just wanted to clarify that.

Um this is a pilot, correct?

Yeah, this is this is a pilot uh that there's uh I uh that it's being looked at nationally, honestly.

Okay, because um I know they went through the planning commission twice.

Um I was concerned uh because I know that we're trying to move away from fracking, but there was no one there in that field that spoke against it.

So um I guess that put me a little bit at ease.

Um I was there both times, um, and I did want to speak against it, but there I'm not the expert, and um, and it's it did seem like it was a valuable use and it had a very small footprint.

So as a pilot, I was okay with it.

Yeah, and and is to your concern again uh against fracking a 100% right there with you.

My understanding of this project is that we're using simply the existing energy that uh since the wastewater comes out year round uh at the same temperature, uh it's it it it does reduce the the uh cooling needs in the summer and the heating needs in the winter.

Uh when we were able to tap into it.

Okay.

Uh it I will say it's not buildings that would be coming up in the immediate future would not uh you know that it is a different enough system from uh people that I've talked to that it really would be for buildings that are in the ideation stage uh it in the near future and beyond, because if you've um if you've gotten into your design process, you've already planned out your HVAC systems for it.

So it's uh you know, this is really hey, let's let's look to the future kind of stuff.

Do you have any uh building projects that we're thinking about in terms of attaching into this loop system?

Uh I suspect that a few of the developers in that area do, but I do uh I talking to CORE recently, like some of the ones that they've already got planned out, they would have to go completely backwards to do it.

So it wouldn't be looking at the ones that are already planned out, it would be the looking at the ones uh once it's approved and um they are ready to build, then for the uh the future buildings on that site, that's when um as they begin to do the design phase, they could start to consider it.

But based on where the location is, those buildings would be closer to the neighborhood and mixed use sites, not the inner harbor industrial.

Uh well, no, there's when you look at the development, the proposed development of the inner harbor, where we're talking residential and commercial throughout that space.

So it is a loop around the inner harbor, it would be specifically for that area and just for my colleagues.

Uh grid put out a hundred and forty-four page document last July detailing you know, not just what we're talking about, but a whole bunch more.

I I mean an incredible amount of detail.

And I forward it to some of the council.

I'll make sure that I put that in an email to everyone.

144 pages.

You guys got 45 minutes, you're good, right?

Okay, that's perfect.

Thank you so much.

So Joe, I have a question for you on the same um item.

Um this isn't an item that would have um resulted in us having a public hearing.

Joe Barry, first assistant corporation counsel.

Uh the question is whether or not it needs a public hearing.

Yeah, it it shouldn't have no typical uh special permits um do not require a public hearing.

They're considered first by the planning commission.

I believe they have a public hearing.

Yeah, well, because their public hearing is considered okay, okay.

All right.

Yeah, they have it.

Sometimes we have a committee meeting if we're have more concerns about it.

Yeah, okay.

Yep.

Thank you.

And they had to they had to.

So okay.

Um 71.

I um I was gonna get back about the um review form, the type two type two review form.

Do you think we need that?

Because I um it kind of that kind of uh usually the standard for the secret, there's always uh um a review form.

Um, actually, not not for type twos.

So we don't but not for type twos.

We can so it type two means it's exempt from C.

All right.

So we we just need to memorialize that because it's um relates to a bond issuance.

But you're you're correct almost all the time, it does have a form.

Yeah, type two being the exception.

Okay, thank you.

I just was off and I just wanted to make sure I didn't know.

Good question, but yeah, not type two.

Anything else?

Um are we all set?

All right, moving on.

Uh counselor my joke.

Oh, oh, um, wait, I'm sorry.

So 81.

Um, sorry.

Uh the zone density.

Where is um is Jake here?

Jake's not she's not here at the moment, but what I can do, counselors.

So I wasn't here on what's today Wednesday.

Um, so I just wanted to know what was the um what was the purpose for changing this density at this um location because there are um one corner, each corner that's near there has um a four unit building and then there's a vacant lot.

If we take this down to residential two, that's just for upwards of two family dwellings.

Typically, yes.

Um because I'm just I'm more concerned that uh the possibility of the property that is there being demolished in the potential for something with a um um maybe not of I don't know what is five, what does five um represent?

So typically it um I know you're aware of this too, kind of it typically is the higher the number, the more dense it is.

So R5 is a higher level of density compared to like an R1 or no, I know that I'm just saying how many units what does that offer?

You know I I don't have I don't know that immediately offhand.

I know my understanding, and I know you referenced the multi-uh unit apartment buildings.

This is a split zone parcel, so it had the R2.

One of the things we try to do when we and there's there are times where we catch this is really try to create consistency.

So the adjacent parcel next door, um we want to make sure that that's uniform and incorporates the multifamily housing building next to it.

So I believe this was simply a correction to that to make sure that we are having those uniform um because of the multifamily housing use with the R2, and I think that this is a correction of that.

That's okay.

Would it make more sense to keep it in the higher density use that includes the one to two family versus I mean it doesn't preclude it?

Uh so I I can get you an update probably uh before one o'clock uh as to uh what that looked like uh in a fortnight able to get you the information we need, then you know it certainly will hold.

But uh yeah, typically what we always do unless there is a uh very specific uh need or proposal for the project is we'll go to the less dense option when we've got two parcels that are combined of different uh zones.

But yeah, we I I can uh I'll go back, I'll take a look.

Okay, and uh I'll I'll get you an update as quick as I can.

Okay, thank you.

Thank you.

Are you okay?

Yes, yes.

All right, um counselor my job.

Uh thank you.

Uh item 82 as a uh waiver.

Any question on that?

We like I said last week we had um part of the RFP.

Uh we made a decision that O'Connell Electric was the best option based on toothing price and the fact that they are local, the other one the other two that had applied were off the range and out of town as well.

So didn't really make sense.

Uh so off the range and out of town.

Yeah, I have a question.

Go ahead.

Um at Rich is not here from HR.

Uh Deputy Mayor, could you step up, please?

Just a question about um constitu about some of the staff calling the recent closing of um Jeromeo and some other daycares that are having what are we putting in together if staff have that issues with their children not having services because it affected some of our staff here.

So uh yeah, so we have um done um uh a good amount of outreach to the county and to the state to try and get some details in terms of how long do we anticipate this closure to be going on for.

Um also have the mayors reached out directly to the superintendent at the school district to try and make sure we've got opportunities available to them.

I know the staff that I've spoken with who have children at Jamonio have have been able to find alternate arrangements, but we're um staying in close touch just to try and see how long do we anticipate this closure to be.

So those staff that so have you reached out because I know there's some other staff that are having some issues.

So I mean if there are staff members that you're you know happy to connect them with our office so that we can make sure that they're availing themselves of the resources, um, you know, whether that is um child care solutions, whether that's the school district, you know, we're trying to make sure that people are connected with the resources that are available to them.

Okay, I just want to make sure because I it came across to me from some staff, and you know, when you go into work and you don't have special children, to make sure that we're aware of it and we're not you know dinging people at a hard time right now.

Understood.

Thank you.

Thank you, counselor.

All right.

Um is everybody all set?

We need a thing.

All in favor.

See you at 1 p.m.