Public quizzes city leaders
Annual meeting focuses on quality-of-life issues
TROY, N.Y. » The public had its annual chance Wednesday night to quiz city officials about issues of concern to them and not have to wait for answers.
About 25 people came out to the Polish American Club in South Troy for a special council meeting at which top city officials and council members addressed mainly quality-of-life issues ranging from code enforcement and public safety to street cleaning and snow removal.
“It’s an opportunity for you, the residents and the taxpayers, to get the mayor, the City Council, the department heads all in the same room and to informally ask questions,” council President Carmella Mantello said in opening the meeting, “and you will hopefully get answers on the spot.”
Many of those who took the opportunity to quiz city officials were from South Troy and spoke with frustration about continuing problems such as landlords failing to care for their properties, drug dealers working openly and cars whizzing along city streets well above posted speed limits. Those officials dutifully took note of each specific concern and promised to look into each individual complaint.
“The problems we’re having are primarily quality-of-life issues,” said 6th Avenue resident and city Industrial Development Authority member Tina Urzan. “It’s getting out of control.”
While he wouldn’t go into details about individual complaints,
city police Chief John Tedesco said his department was already aware of many of the complaints about drug dealing and speeding motorists and has already taken some steps to address the problems. City code enforcement officer Carlo Sorriento, meanwhile, said his office will soon be able to respond more quickly to complaints, after the office completes an upgrade to its records management system that will include the addition of handheld units to allow staff to work more efficiently in the field.
“Normally when we have these meetings, the top topics are code enforcement, garbage and speeding,” Mantello observed.
Councilman Mark McGrath, R-District 2, said he would like to see a return to a policy where the city more aggressively addresses things such as littering or illegal dumping.
“Nuisance abatement,” McGrath said, “we need to try to get it back.”
Officials also were questioned about the controversial decision not to open the city’s two municipal pools because of deterioration that led to safety concerns. Mayor Patrick Madden said the city is in the process of developing a long-term plan to address the facilities in South Troy and Lansingburgh’s Knickerbocker Park, with the question being whether it makes more sense to invest millions in fixing up the existing pools to extend their lives another five eyars or so or to invest that money into building one new pool to serve the entire city.
“Are we willing to put $4 million into an asset that 200 people [last eyar’s average daily pool usage] are going to use for six weeks a year?” the mayor asked.