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Council of Albany Neighborhood Associations
December 6,2000

President Marggie Skinner opened the meeting at 7 PM.
I.                    Introductions.
II.                  Minutes: Henry Madej moved to accept the NovemberMinutes. Harold Rubin seconded. Motion approved.
III.                Communications/Announcements:
·  Marggieexpressed sympathy to Mimi Mounteer on the passing of her husband, John, avalued member of the Board of Directors of NRC and the Manning Boulevard NA.Henry Madej moved that CANA extend formal condolences. There were numerousseconds.  Motion passedunanimously.  NRC has made a memorialcontribution to LaSalle in John's name. CANA will do likewise.
·  C1application deadline is January 5.
·  Home-storemeeting will be conducted on Dec. 7 at noon.
·  TheBrighter Choice Charter School (Albany's second) has been proposed.  An information seminar will be conducted onSaturday, Dec. 9, at 11 AM in the Crowne Plaza.
·  Lights inthe Park, a program of lighted scenes in Washington Park to benefit the PoliceAthletic League, will be running over the holidays.
·  An OpenHouse will be conducted on Dec. 7 at the Center for Independence at 855 CentralAvenue from 2-6 PM.
·  January 11,2001 is the deadline for applications to take civil service exams for thepositions of water meter reader, and 911 operator.
IV.                Committee Reports and New Business.  
A.     University & Community Relations.  Tom Gebhardt.  The next meeting of the Committee will be held on Dec. 13 at 7 PMat the Albany Police Dept., 526 Central Avenue.  There will be no meeting in January due to college/universityintersessions.  The committee's 10thAnniversary Celebration was held on Nov. 8. Awards commemorating the ceremony were presented to Henry Madej, ChrisLindsay, Scott Wexler, Michael Byron, Officer Fred Aliberti and RobertBenedetto.  Recognition certificateswere presented to all "cooperating taverns,” as part of the committee's"Tavern Owner Advertisement Agreement."
The committee is currentlyconducting the following advertising campaigns: Thanksgiving anti-burglary;Friends don't let friends drive drunk; Smoke detector requirement; DowntownSafety; Albany's Snow Emergency Plan (476-SNOW) and a warning about the dangersof "date rape" drugs.
B.      Community Police Council.  Marggie described the origin and history of the committee.  Commander Turley is the current chair. HelenBlack reported that the main discussion at the last meeting was on the policedepartment’s combination of its narcotics units with directed patrolunits.  If there are community policeissues in your neighborhood, talk about them with a CANA rep on the committee.Helen Black, (Arbor Hill); Shannon Hickman (Pine Hills); Craig Waltz(Helderberg); Emily Grisom (Sheridan Hollow); Mary Connair (Delaware); SandraHalbritter (West Hill). Call 489-5311 if you need their phone numbers.
C.      NRC Convention.  Gene Solan thanked all participants and organizers of the recentevent.  Approximately 200 peopleattended on November 18.  The committeewill meet for a post -event discussion at 7:45 AM on Tuesday, Dec. 12.  One outcome: a questionnaire will be goingout to all NA’s shortly.  Please be sureto respond.
D.     Cable Access. Marggie described conversations with Time Warner and the College ofSaint Rose to attempt to make use of citizen's cable access.  We need to establish a committee to assist inmoving this project along.  Albany'scurrent contract with Time Warner expires in 4 years.  It was suggested that we strongly urge Time Warner to provide themeans under public access for televising meetings of the school board, CommonCouncil and CANA.
E.      Airport Noise. Dan Egan and Ann Savage (Plymouth NA).The excessive noise caused by planes at Albany Int. Airport was raised.  Ann reported that she recently learned thatthe airport is conducting a noise abatement study (a successor to the 1996study), to determine the impact of noise on local neighborhoods in flight pathsand to find abatement accommodations.  Peoplebothered by airplane noise should call 242-2200, and select option 7 to recordcomplaints.  Dan Egan moved thatCANA adopt a resolution urging the Airport authority to search and use whatevermeans necessary to abate the current noise problem.   Harold Rubin seconded. There was no additional discussion. The motion passed unanimously.
F.      Mary Connair invited everyone to come to the Delaware AvenueFire Station on Monday, Dec. 11 at 5 PM. Mayor Jennings will turn on theirholiday lighting.
G.      Helen Desfosses reported that all are invited to discus thetransfer of city properties to the developer for the Swan St. project on Dec.12 from 6-8 PM in the Community room on the second floor of 200 Henry JohnsonBlvd.
H.     Henry Madej reported on CSR's Education Facilities ImprovementProgram. The latest plan includes demolition of several historicallysignificant buildings on Madison Avenue near North Main Ave. and replacing themwith a 53,000 square foot structure to be known as The Lally Building.   PHNA, supported by St. Andrew's EpiscopalChurch and Steamer 10 Theater, has urged CSR to conduct a formal environmentalimpact study before moving further on this project.
I.        Marggie asked if we would accommodate Mayor Jennings, theguest speaker for our January meeting and move the date back to the 2ndWeds, Jan. 10.  There were noobjections.
J.       In response to a request from Lucy Wong, of Arbor HillConcerned Citizens regarding the county’s plan to demolish 41 Ten Broeck St.,Harold Rubin moved that CANA adopt a resolution urging the county to preserveand rehabilitate the building at 41 Ten Broeck.  Ann Brewster seconded. Clare Yates and Elizabeth Griffin of Historic Albany Foundation suggestedthat the façade could be stabilized; it is too late to save the entirebuilding as the rear of the building has collapsed.  If the façade is kept, the character of the street will remainuninterrupted.  It was suggested thatresolution be amended to urge stabilization of the facade.  The change was adopted by acclamation.  The motion passed unanimously.

V.                  Guest Speakers:  PaulTenan, Albany School District Citizens' Budget Committee; Lonnie Palmer,Superintendent, Albany Public Schools; Katherine Webb, School BoardPresident.
A.      Paul Tenan distributed a handout detailing his reaction, as amember of the Citizen’s Budget Committee, to the Albany School District’sproposed Facilities Plan for new construction and rehabilitation of Albany'sschool buildings.  He warned thatputting such a large amount of money into a capital program would take neededfunds away from operating expenses.
B.       Lonnie Palmer also handed out a summary of the current issuesunder discussion regarding the District’s Facilities Plan, as well as atentative time line for Board of Education decision-making.  Mr. Palmerstated the project is necessary because the average age of Albany's schoolbuildings is 88-91 years and many have problems regarding state educationcodes.
A question and answer period followedthe prepared presentations.
Q.  What portion of the project will be paid byState Aid?
A. Mr. Palmer, approximately 55% will be state aid; 45% will comefrom property taxes.
A. Mr. Tenan added that homesteading would change the ratio.  Furthermore, no analysis has beenforthcoming that proves the feasibility of the project as proposed.
Q.What has happened with Krumkill and Whitehall Rd. proposals?
A. Mr. Palmer.  Those sitesare no longer being considered.
Q.What will happen to the Schuyler Elementary School?
A. Mr. Palmer.  It maybecome a middle school; it may be sold to SUNY or other programs, such ascentral offices, may be relocated to the Schuyler Bldg.
Q.Albany has a bad record of unused school buildings turning into derelictproperties.  How will old schools behandled under this plan?
A. Mr. Palmer.  School #17may be leased to a church group.  Theproperty of School #21 will be used as a new bldg. site.
Joanne McElroy-Moore urgedeverybody to get involved in this issue. It affects everyone in the City financially, even if there are noelementary or secondary school aged children in the household. Property valuesare definitely affected by the public’s perceived quality of the schools.
Katharine Webb, president of Albany's School Board,noted that a referendum on the project is scheduled for May.  Call 462-7200 for information on Boardmeeting times.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:10PM

Respectfully submitted,

Cynthia Galivan for Sandra Thomas



Attendance

Holly Katz, MANS                                                                                    Mark Yolles, MANS
Thomas Gebhardt, UNIV                                                                      Anne Savage, PLYM
Dan Egan, PLYM                                                                                     Harold Rubin, CSQ
Anne Brewster, WPNA                                                                    HowieStoller, MEL
Suzanne Hokanson, LPNA                                                                 G. Mowbray, HPNA
Lt. Leonard Crouch, APD                                                                        Henry M. Madej, PHNA
Greg Popp, PHNA                                                                                     Emily Grisom, SHNA
Helen Black, AHCC                                                                     WayneMorris, Pt. Of Woods
Joanne McElroy Moore, NASPNA                                                             MaryConnair, DANA
Christopher Lindsay, BEV                                                                        Betsy Shearer, PSNA
Robert Batson, Whitehall                                                                 David Phaff, NewANA
Fred Perkins, PHNA                                                                     CynthiaGalivan, MBNA
Joyce Rambo, CSQ                                                                                        Joseph T. McCaffrey, Whitehall
Joseph A. Jenkins, Giffen                                                                      Karen Salih, CORA
Terence Thornberry, WPNA                                                                    Mimi Mounteer, MBNA
Daniel W. VanRiper, LPNA                                                                   Katherine Webb, SCHLBD
Steve Reilly                                                                                      Bill Brandow, CSQ
Paul Tenan, SCHLBUD                                                                             ScottWexler, SCHLBD
Liz Benjamin, TU                                                                                          Carol Saginaw, BUCK
Cindy Schultz, PLYM                                                                     TheresaSwidorski, SCHLBD
William Barnette, SCHLBD                                                                                Clare Yates, CSQ
Lonnie Palmer, SCHL                                                                      MartyGawoski, WHNA
Gene Solan, PHNA                                                                                     Kathleen Kearney, HPNA
Steve Winters, SECC                                                                      MarggieSkinner, PHNA
Elizabeth Griffin, HAF