FULTON – The Fulton Common Council met last night, Tuesday, September 6, when the discussion of Bird scooters took over much of the meeting’s public comment session.
Before public comment, Oswego County Legislators James Karasek and Linda Lockwood presented the city with a check for $30,000 of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding to put toward satellite stations for the police department.
“Thank you for the nice surprise and thank you for all of your support of our police and of our city,” Mayor Deana Michaels said.
This topic had been discussed during the August 2 council meeting, with County Legislator Frank Castiglia Jr. explaining why he voted against this use of funds. During that meeting, and he reiterated his reasoning during last night’s meeting, he said he believes that money can be better used elsewhere in the city.
A number of topics were brought up during public comment including Bird scooters, which were introduced to the city of Fulton on Friday, August 26.
Before speaking, city resident David Phares passed out some photos of Bird scooters left in spots that were in the way of others. He explained after his experience of almost hitting two scooters parked on the side of the road and seeing them in the middle of the sidewalk that he sees them as a nuisance.
“How much thought and discussion was given to these scooters, because frankly, I don’t see where they’re worth the value of being fun and an easy way to get around town,” Phares said.
Another city resident, Martha Swift, agreed, saying someone had parked a scooter behind her car and she could not move it by herself. She also said riders should be wearing helmets but are not.
County Legislator and city resident Frank Castiglia Jr. also expressed his concerns regarding the scooters, saying he had seen someone go through a stop sign and people riding double. He asked how much money it would cost the city for police to respond to an accident involving a Bird scooter versus the revenue they bring to the city, which is 15 cents per ride, according to Mayor Michaels.
“They are a use for people to have entertainment,” Castiglia said. “We need entertainment for the kids. We don’t need entertainment for adults.”
Matt Fragale, owner of Port City Scooters and a resident of Fulton, addressed these concerns. He said during the first full week the scooters have been in the community, there were 447 rides documented to a variety of places, including transportation for work in the city, the Department of Motor Vehicles, local businesses, etc.
He said there is a learning curve and while members of his business do try and educate riders, they cannot be everywhere at a time. There is a number on the scooters to call if they are left in an inconvenient area. When that number is called, Port City is alerted and they have two hours to fix the issue.
He said that recently there were a few scooters left in the middle of the bridge sidewalk, but once he was made aware of the issue, he was able to rectify it. As for rules such as wearing a helmet while on a Bird scooter, the rider agrees to accept that liability in the app before they begin riding.
“We’re working towards a better operation,” Fragale said.
Mayor Michaels also said they worked with the Fulton City School District to create a geofence so the scooters will not run on school property.
New Police Chief Michael Curtis also spoke on the Bird scooters, saying as more time goes on and adjustments are made, there will be less of a reason for police to get involved with scooter related issues. He said scooters pose the same risk as bicycles, pedestrians, or motor vehicle accidents, and said to “give a little grace” as more data is collected and learned from.
“It’s a service provided to the community at no cost to the taxpayer and we will grow as we learn more about it and collect data as it is very data intensive,” Curtis said. “The goal is that the company itself will make adjustments.”
Other topics discussed during public comment included support for Pop Warner, yard waste pickup, lack of public restrooms at Bullhead Point, the appointment of a deputy city clerk, and a problem with a specific property.
The council then moved on to passing all items on the agenda.
There were two public hearings held during the meeting – the first regarding the proposed “Temporary Moratorium on the Establishment Smoke/Vape Shops.”
Mayor Michaels explained that this six month pause on accepting new smoke and vape shops came about after the city went from three shops to six in a short period of time and that there are ten more proposed shops of this nature.
She said the pause will allow the city to have enough time to “get our ducks in a row” as it discusses if it needs 16 smoke/vape shops in the city limits. She also said the state legalization of marijuana throws a wrench into figuring out how to regulate it.
First Ward Councilor Dan Farfaglia said a neighbor told him a junior high age child was vaping in the street, which concerned him as to how the child got the product.
“It’s obvious we need to put a pause on these operations so that way we can safeguard our children,” Farfaglia said.
Eric from Eric’s Construction based in Syracuse asked a question on behalf of a client, if the client were to change the LLC to something like a supermarket or a convenience store if that would be allowed to come in. Mayor Michaels said the public hearing was just about smoke/vape shops.
Frank Castiglia Jr. said he agrees with this proposed resolution and does not believe these types of shops should be located in the Downtown Revitalization Initiative zone.
David Phares, who is also on the planning commission, recommended changing the wording to include any business selling smoke and vape products. Mayor Michaels responded saying they had done research on what other communities have done and this would limit economic development as places like Fastrac and Byrne Dairy sell these items as well.
The public hearing was left open and comments can be directed to the city clerk’s office until the council’s next meeting on Tuesday, September 20.
The next public hearing was in regards to amending subsection 608-53 Schedule VIII: Stop Intersections. It is proposed to add a stop sign on West Fifth Street north with the direction of travel heading north at the intersection of Hannibal Street.
Although no one spoke during this public hearing, it was left open for comments to be sent to the city clerk’s office until September 20.
The council then voted on the remaining items on the agenda, approving all.
- Resolution to approve the minutes from the August 16 council meeting
- Resolution to approve the clerk’s report for July 2022 in the amount of $8,859.25
- Notation: Mayor to appoint Jo Smith as deputy city clerk
- Authorize the mayor to sign and execute the deputy city clerk contract agreement for Jo Smith
- All councilors except Fourth Ward Councilor Ethan Parkhurst voted in favor of this resolution
- “What we need is more communication,” Parkhurst said in an email. “More information on day to day so we don’t have misunderstandings. Last night was purely a misunderstanding of information. I need more than the 30 minutes before a meeting to understand what we’re doing. We received the contract on September 1 and we didn’t get together as a council to communicate about the contract until just before the meeting. It didn’t feel right to cast a yes vote. Something felt off to me.”
- Approve the sale of the property located at 515 Buffalo St. in the amount of $500 to Jason Treasure
- Appoint commissioners of deeds in and for the city of Fulton
- Authorize the commissioner of public works to purchase rock salt for the 2022-2023 winter season
- Authorize the clerk/chamberlain to advertise for bids for gasoline and diesel fuel
- Authorize the commissioner of public works to sign the milling and paving contract in the amount of $1,960,000 with Seneca Stone Corp for the South 2nd to South 4th (NYS 481) paving project
- Authorize the clerk/chamberlain to transfer $12,000 in ARPA funds for mobile computer technology for the common council, department heads, and city boards
- Authorize the clerk/chamberlain to advertise for a public hearing to be held on October 4 to amend section 608-58 Schedule XIV: Parking prohibited at all times on the south side of Highland Street from South Fifth Street to South Seventh Street
- Authorize the clerk/chamberlain to advertise for a public hearing to be held on October 4 to amend section 608-58 Schedule XIV: Parking prohibited at all times on the north side of Rochester Street from South Fourth Street to South Sixth Street
The next Common Council meeting will be held on Tuesday, September 20 at 7 p.m. in the Community Room of the Municipal Building.
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Alot of money always goes to the police department why is this our street is in shambles im sure other streets are to just patching them is not the answer wake up mayor