Utica, New York Common Council Meeting Records

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Common Council Meeting January 21st, 2026

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Common Council Meeting January 21st, 2026

12 matches · 5 unidentified
Unidentified speaker 33:57
All right, yeah, two things I would like to just point out quickly for you guys. So when I talked to my, my officers and Councilman Betrus about this legislation, um, it's not like the— I don't think it's the type of legislation, but look, I could— there could be a different codes commissioner tomorrow, the mayor could give a different— so regular grains of salt, he could give a different directive. I don't think it's the type of thing where we're going around looking for trucks and driveways. I think it's the type where we're responding to complaints, and then when you get a complaint, you deal with people. That's number one. But number two is you can also write an ordinance, um, the same way you can for an 8-foot fence, like the Councilperson just said, and give exceptions in your neighborhood. But then it's on the council to do that, right? So if somebody calls and says, I don't like that codes cited me for my truck, this is how I make my living, and it's in your district and you feel like it's within the character of your district, you can bring it to the council to try to— that's the main part that we put in there.
Unidentified speaker 42:40
Thank you. So thank you for this invitation to speak with you this evening. In previous years, you've heard from experts on lead poisoning and its impacts, and I am not here to repeat their presentations. I am here as Chairperson of the Environmental and Climate Justice Committee of the Oneida County and Utica Branch of the NAACP. DPW to advocate for a clear and actionable commitment from the Utica Common Council and the Mayor of Utica to reduce lead poisoning in our city. I'm also here to make equally clear our desire to work with you in partnership. I will briefly review key information to ground us all in the challenge and opportunity before us. And then I'm going to outline specifically what we are asking you to consider and why time is of the essence. I ask that you please hold your questions until the end of my remarks so I can keep this brief. Children are recommended to be tested for lead exposure at 12 and 24 months. According to New York State's Department of Health, 14.25% of Oneida County children are not tested, and Utica's blood levels are 4 times the state average for lead poisoning. Elevated lead levels can cause anemia, nausea, hair loss, confusion, muscle weakness, permanent brain damage, poor impulse control, kidney and bone marrow damage. Once you understand the impact of lead poisoning, you can see it reflected, and you can see the effects in our community. We see it. I'm certain you see it in the police department. Young people struggling economically and vocationally. Increased reports of youth violence and conflict. Our police department responding to fights in our streets. Parents overwhelmed by behavioral and impulse control challenges. I spoke with a leader in our community today who works with children And she said she often talks to these kids and they don't understand why they're acting out. They don't understand, but they're lead poisoned. These are not isolated issues. They are symptoms of a community with high levels of lead exposure. And it costs all of us because of the outcomes. That this creates. Census data shows that 48.7% of Utica residences, and that's about 11,244 households, are renter occupied. These renters face limited housing options and tight fiscal constraints. Scarcity creates a power imbalance that makes these tenants fearful of doing anything that might jeopardize the roof over their head. Many feel unable to push for lead testing or remediation. This brings us to the reason why we as the NAACP are here tonight. Utica is one of 25 New York communities covered under the new New York State lead rental registry law. This requires inspections for rental properties with 2 or more units built before 1980, and it begins on May 3rd of this year. The Oneida County Public Health Department is responsible for enforcing this law and is contracting with Mohawk Valley Community Action Agency to conduct those inspections using lead wipe testing to assess the hazards. So our requests— many of our requests align directly with the implementation of this new law because, frankly, we think that we can help you and we can all benefit from collaboration around this. First of all, we are asking for transparency and some citizen oversight. With Utica lead levels among the highest in New York State, residents deserve transparency. We need to know what the City of Utica is doing and planning to ensure effective implementation of the lead rental registry. There is currently no mechanism for citizen oversight of the city's lead poisoning reduction efforts. Establishing such oversight would keep attention on those at highest risk and encourage collaboration across agencies and departments. And here's the kind of collaboration that we're hoping for. Effective implementation requires strong communication between MVCCA, Oneida County Health Department, and the city. Communities that have made progress on reducing lead coordinate inspections and enforcement. Joint inspections minimize disruption for residents and landlords. While providing more comprehensive and timely assessments. The third ask is we would like the city to share data, specifically property data. We ask the City of Utica proactively share any available property data that will help identify addresses covered under this new law with Oneida County Health Department and/or MVCCA, because quickly identifying which households fall under this legislation is essential. The consequences of lead poisoning are irreversible, so urgency is necessary. Citywide lead testing should be a part of certificates of occupancy. We ask the Common Council to pass legislation requiring both lead wipe testing and soil testing for certificates of occupancy for all rental properties, not only the multi-unit, multi-family units that will be covered by this new state law. Single-family rental tenants deserve the same protections. And given the housing shortage, tenants cannot be expected to request testing themselves. If the Codes Department needs additional staff to meet this responsibility, we would urge the council to add those positions. This is an investment in the economic future of our region through improved health outcomes. We— our 5th recommendation, or ask, I heard referenced earlier, and I'm so sad that the engineer is not here. Um, we— our 5th ask is simply to align the paving with lead service line replacement. We urge the city to coordinate its paving schedule with Mohawk Valley Health System, lead pipe remediation efforts because Dig Once is widely recognized as a cost-effective and fiscally responsible approach. Our sixth and final ask is community representation on the Mohawk Valley Water Authority board. We know that's not up to you, but we also know you influence that. While deteriorating paint is a primary source of lead poisoning, lead service lines also pose a risk. Mohawk Valley Water Authority plays a major role in reducing exposure, and we are asking that the city advocate for the creation of a community advocate position on the MVWA board, which would be filled by a Utica resident selected by the NAACP. We have a handout— Shayna, can you distribute? We have a handout summarizing the statistics and our requests. If you would like a digital copy of what we're going to hand out, there is an email address for the NAACP on the last page. And I would just I'll close by saying one of our community committee members last week said, this is a critical time for local government to restore faith by demonstrating open communication, collaboration, and care for community. And so I thank you for doing your part in helping to restore faith in this government here in Utica by taking action around lead. Thank you.
12:03
Meeting will come to order. First piece of legislation we're going to look at is a Board of Estimate and Review appointment. Uh, be resolved that pursuant to Section 523 of Real Tax Property Law, the Councilperson hereby appointed as a member of the Board of Estimate review for the current 5-year term, which commenced on October 1st, 2025, and then September 30th, 2030. And it's Eugene Ciccolella. One of the things that we were talking about earlier on this, clerks, is that— is this— is this correctly dated, or should it be today's date?
20:39
Yeah, because, you know, when you pass legislation, it's important that when we pass it, uh, we know what we're we know what it's actually really going to cost us because we don't, we don't know what the interest rate's going to be yet. Uh, so I think the next time we get something like this, I think it should be a little more specific on, you know, what's it, what's it actually going to cost the citizens of the city here, you know, what's it going to cost us to actually borrow this. I think that's important. I mean, it's a great project, but it's, it's, it's important that, you know, we know, we actually know So when we're actually looking ahead, you know, what it's actually going to cost the city when we're doing our budgeting. Yeah, so yeah, this is something that should have been done years ago.
Unidentified speaker 29:50
Yeah, that's, that's, that's— in the districts named in this legislation, they wouldn't be able to do that. They haven't been able to do that historically. What's supposed to happen theoretically with those vehicles is if you drive a truck, you pay for a place to park it in an industrial zone and the parking lots off of near the Thruway or on Broad Street. You pay for a parking space to park your truck. You can't drive your truck through a small city street and run it and park it in your driveway. That's what the law used to be. This law would make that illegal again in residential neighborhoods. That's up to you, you know what I mean? I don't care whether the truck's there or not. It wasn't there— if it's a day, a day here and there, it's okay. It's not a permanent thing where they can stay there. The word we used is keeping. You can't keep a truck on residential property, so it depends on what you mean by keeping.
Unidentified speaker 57:52
So yes, and Oneida County's health department will be responsible for the implementation of this state law. However, they really could use your help. Thank you. And, um, I did see in the handout, I do want to point out the URL there is, um, is a preliminary draft of what legislation could look like for the City of Utica. So we You know, we have other sister cities who have effectively reduced their rates of lead poisoning in relatively short order by taking action. And that URL links to the work of John Adams, formerly of Cornell Cooperative Extension, who drafted what that could look like here in Utica. So.
Unidentified speaker 1:10:45
Good evening. My name is Shayna Dolan, and as some of you know, I wear many hats in the community. But here I am tonight. I'm here to wear my NAACP Environmental Justice Committee member hat as well as the policy and advocacy chair for the Lead-Free and Healthy Homes Mohawk Valley Coalition. So I just want to reiterate everything that Betty Jo mentioned earlier. And just remind the council and the rest of the city government that no amount of lead is safe. Again, right now kids are being used as lead detectors, and right, the damage is permanent, but it's 100% preventable. It just requires action and political will. As stated before, this isn't just a public health issue, it's a racial justice issue, a socioeconomic and housing justice issue. I brought some other handouts that I can share with everyone that kind of outlines the ripple effect, that it's not just on the individually poisoned child, but it has impacts on the school system, right, the healthcare system, the taxpayers, et cetera. So I was actually hired by over HUD, 6 years ago to work on a campaign in the community to end childhood lead poisoning. And again, one of the asks was to create local legislation to end childhood poisoning in the City of Utica. And under that grant, I was able to work with different folks at the coalition and with folks at what's called Alterum Institute, and we submitted a bunch of different data to help create a city-specific, um, cost-benefit analysis. So again, this is in the handouts I'll give, but essentially it kind of gives a breakdown on the economic impact to the City of Utica if you don't address this issue. And then it kind of breaks it down into 3 levels whether the city implements lead hazard controls, lead service line replacement, which was talked about earlier, and finally renovation, repair, and painting standards enforcement, which again affects the housing. And then finally, I'll just end by saying that I have a list of recommended videos on YouTube. One is the documentary that the County Health Department and Cornell Cooperative Extension put out a few years ago, as well as other videos that talk about the real history and impact of lead. So I just want to offer my services as someone who has been working on this issue for many years now to help the community get leaducated. My info is on the sign-up sheet. And I hope to hear from you all. Thank you.