Albany Common Council, NY Albany Common Council Caucus, 23 Jan 2020

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From YouTube: Monday, January 23, 2020 6:30PM Albany Common Council Caucus

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Description

A

The police right.

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What do you call made some capital to me.

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Yeah a mission.

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Everyone yeah grab a copy soldier, I'm gonna start right into the agenda. Well, while we're doing that all right first on the agenda is approval of minutes. We got those.

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Just take your board, don't take with some time. Oh all,.

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Right you got that right.

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All right, so, on the agenda approval of minutes, we got the December 16th minutes and the January 6 minutes for approval tonight going into local laws introduced local law. A is mr. tondee's. You want to just real quick Richard submit to the technical.

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Okay, changing.

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A practical, so the idea is to not send it to committee is just a technical question. Writers have to age, so, okay, we will do the intro and then let it age and then it'll pass will pass it for local law be at 20:20. That's miss Fanny's want what I want to do. Is you say a few quick things I'll? Let mr. Spencer have.

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Like two minutes really.

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Community Choice aggregation, and so the city did move forward and interview several different administrators for the program and did make a decision on it. Administrator at the end of the year signed a contract, and mr. Spence is here to talk a little bit more about that process and next steps.

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Albany through.

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Administrators to go she ate better pricing. Sylheti also may include some additional green utility efficiency in terms of that. So really, the next step is really putting on a plan. Community engagement- that's really probably the most important part, is making sure that if Beauty understands what's going on, they understand what the process is damage games like this opt-out provisions are because it is an opt-out provision.

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That's again, I think the community engagement and the community education is the most important part can be rolling that out with mega with the administrator, and that's really letting the community know what this is letting them understand how this is going to help them, how it's going to save money but, most importantly, that opportunity for them to opt out. If they don't want to be part of this, and if they can opt out at any time. So we want to make sure that everybody understands that so moving forward.

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If the prices are a little bit different than what they're expecting they're not going to come back and blame the council or blame the city, so they understand what that is. So it's.

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Got a packet in here there's a bunch of information here that you guys I'm going to use, make copies for the council a lot of stuff faced from NYSERDA on community aggregation back sheet, but also some information from a got some of our example documents and strategies. So this is also a part of a larger sort of free reader, energies or communities from nicer to look at the high-impact actions that they talked about benchmark and clean energy upgrades LED, streetlights, clean fleet solarized.

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Most of these we've done other than clean fleets, so Community Choice aggregation down into here. So this really.

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Fits in well with.

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The high impact.

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Right and I would ask that you hold your questions. There's gonna be a fuller discussion of this in the planning committee. That's going to planning you just want to get this information out. There was a concern, mrs. phase part that not everyone attends all the meetings that she wanted, all the members to be yeah to get a bit of information, and hopefully everyone participates in the planning committee me because this is important stuff. We have that schedule. Yes,.

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February 12th, this planning committee me but I also I, want to say this 60-day education period. This is when mega energy goes out. It talks about this whole program to the community. So if you have neighborhood associations that are active and that you know would it would benefit folks to have someone from mega energy come and talk about this program? Please let myself know let Louise Gavin know she's the contact person with mega energy and I think we've sent out some contact information. Also, please get the information out on social media.

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This to me is, can be a huge stumbling block because it's it's you know, there's a big learning curve here to understand what this means and people have a lot of reservations about doing anything, because they've seen when they've joined, looked at joining other ESCOs energy service corporations, I. Think of companies there's a there's hidden fees, but this isn't like that. This is a New, York, State or thorez program.

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So there's a lot of rules and regulations, and it real that we all do stand to benefit from this and there's other there's it's either 14 or 15. Other municipalities are also exploring this and with the same company mega energy, that was, you know, one of the we looked at.

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We did interview three companies and this one stood out for the work that it's already done and for a lot of different reasons, but we looked carefully at all three administrators, so, like I, said 15 other municipalities I'm looking at this and up and the more municipalities that agree to do this, it's gonna bring the price down, so we're saving people money and we're also gonna have more renewable energy sources, which is you know it won't be all. What does.

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Make it create renewable energy sources or are they selling.

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The same market.

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As National Grid competing.

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That is correct. Yes, now.

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Still have National Grid National Grid will still be the ones to supply energy and to do all the maintenance, so your people will still be getting those national.

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Just stuff- and we try.

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Them in february/march mister.

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Of this final station or.

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We won't have another opportunity to.

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Prove the final contacts always be.

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We will need to pass specific legislation that Kathy is introducing tonight.

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Connect nearly.

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Choice, aggregation.

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Then there's a second step where you know: they're gonna come up with some prices and sources for energy, a lot of decision making still has so we can still say no, we don't want any part of this. Okay.

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Yes and there there's a lot of information right now on mega CCA org, but yes, we're going to have more information on the city website, they're trying to do a lot more public as well.

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Okay, so let's move on I would like to apologize for squeezing this in this phase, concern led me to say: okay, let's just get this information and and speak on it dude did you want to and.

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I will just a request for members. I think that it's wonderful, in fact, we talked about presenting things with full council. Sometimes we can't all make a medium committee meeting something like this. It would have been great to actually be able to ask questions on as a full council illness. So if we could, please try to keep all we'd love to do informational things. It should be on a Wednesday and at first, if there's an emergency thing fine, but on a whole, let's always focus on a Wednesday.

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If it's timely, we'll try to switch what's happening on that Wednesday, but in the future, let's really focus on Wednesdays. It's too short. It's.

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Not enough time there's a lot of information exact so moving on from there to order Chappelle there, a number of them I have mr. Farrell just run group. Is there from the finance committee.

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Yes, so we are going so twenty point, one zero one point: one: nine.

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Agenda, an agenda number seven, that's a pass that is for plate, playground, spray pad equipment, installation agenda number eight is a pass. We amended that that had been passed through the Finance Committee meeting at a lower rate. We did amend that ordinance to that lower rate.

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The title was important. Amendments would be tonight.

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Amendment correct.

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Correct so the $150,000 is.

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Agenda number nine is as amended as well, that is for the APD vehicles that was brought down from one point: three: five: seven million to one point: two: zero: five, five hundred, which we've talked about how difficult that is to say in finance, but less money. The bond.

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Nope, the Lincoln arc was 1 million dollars that might.

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Be what you're thinking there's there's a different playground? Bonds. It wasn't just one playground on 225. It is no no.

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Know you're right and.

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The cost was 250, but the I.

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Thought the bomb was 250 another.

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Possession the.

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Agenda says 250, but our- and this is weeds. Yeah 150, hmm no.

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No you're, looking at you're.

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Looking at Genda number 8 I.

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Yeah, that was that was I bet you they. They mistakenly changed that with the change of the 150, so that.

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Yeah, so that was the same amount.

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As the thank you for catching that cuz, that is that's supposed to be 250, so at number 7.

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Has to imagine.

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Roadways Oh the.

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Was 225 that was amended to one minute? Okay, the playground equipment. We didn't touch that should be too thick. You.

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Have to amend that.

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Out so I can just see what we have that.

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Raising at this point, okay, that's like if there's been a mix-up, I didn't.

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Make any change to seven so I don't see what if.

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Didn't make any changes you don't have to amend it or anything. Just you just passively yeah.

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You have to make sure that we.

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Gender uh and then appoint my letting moving. Sorry sorry.

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Nope, that's the apd vehicles. I talked about that one. Ten we're going to be withdrawing that that's for the APD building, improvements that didn't go through the proper channels. It didn't go through engineering or anything like that. So they're now doing that internally, going through the proper channels making sure that they go through engineering and before directly coming to the council. So.

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Will be a withdraw, 11 is the Skyway project.

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And with their language being inserted without any good yeah.

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So that will be awesome. Yeah.

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We're being reimbursed well to that search most.

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Of that, so we were being in first 1.9 million out of that 3.3 million and we're getting an additional the total amount of that the cost is going to be between I think ten, eleven million dollars, so our total cost of I think is 1.3 million.

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1.25 and then later another hundred thousand.

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And that's a pass! Yes.

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10.12 that's going to be withdrawn. There was money that within engineering that could be used for that one and the next one is also going to be withdrawn. For the same reason,.

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Agenda 14 will be a pass. That's for the street reconstruction Street reconstruction I'm.

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I'm 15 this list tonight a loop, a.

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Yeah and- and we unfortunately, we have to pass the bonds before the end of January. Why don't.

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You I mean normally they get to stuff out to us in November and they chose to not get it out to us until today. So I mine are tokens bomb.

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So what we're getting it today.

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We're actually told.

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At the end of every doesn't doesn't fail me in times past. We got it earlier, even in north.

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The one reading we have the general services back back in June. We asked them to give us an early unveiling of this at oh yeah, uh-huh yep, but it never happened.

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Trust it because, when the vote came up for the prototype- and you know, one of the questions that I had was about I set up these meetings and I, hear that information is constantly requested and isn't given up, and we keep on put the situations where we find out some at the twelfth hour and we have to vote oh and right here. This is the locus because math a lot of.

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And what I would say to that is I agree. We do have been after the administration about getting this. We were supposed to get it there, probably two occasions where the day that was now again, if you don't feel comfortable voting, there don't vote.

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I will say: DJ both Kelly and.

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Been requesting this incessantly, we agree with your frustration with this. We agree. It's completely unacceptable, where we are right now is this: is it one of those difficult positions where I agree? I don't like this, and there is a huge part of me that would love to vote no on this, but there are so many streets that need to get paid so we're in a difficult place where we need to have our bonding things pass by the end of the month. So.

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Kind of a smashing carnival smile is a total smack I completely agree. We may I say something about it. It's just like you know, and you know, like all the calls that we get about the street. You know as.

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A council we can make the choice to not pass this way.

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I mean that absolutely.

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Our choice, we can make the choice to throw down and say this is completely unacceptable and we are choosing to not pass this and.

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That's something.

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You'd like to do, we can discuss it.

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Without this list, it's.

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And we get it tonight up in the red spot. Bad boy is totally.

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He's able to sit here and point fingers and get people to cut other people off when.

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Think that, but.

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I'm saying that if he's had, if he has something to say- and you know if people feel uncomfortable about what's presented to us in the last second, people should be able to speak, and if we, you know, we will secure for your school.

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I believe that.

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We need to start our meeting sometime.

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It's going to be voted down, then it's going to be they'll.

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Be plenty of time to talk about it.

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I, don't think we should.

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I would say to you it's on it's on the record, what your conscious vote, yeah.

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You have a vote.

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Yes or no you, you have control over that I'm, not trying to defend what everyone's saying.

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So our next agenda.

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So next item on the agenda.

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Agenda number 20.

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Sorry, no, those are being.

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Fogerty withdrawn fourteen.

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Fourteen industry, that's a no-no, that's council! Those are all there.

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Hold 15, 16 or 17 or hold as.

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And 19 is whole and 20.

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Is a pass Judy, do you want to would be that there's an amendment to it.

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So this is the ordinance from 2018 that was for 1.8 million basic that with the funds have not been borrowed in the as a bond that can be banded and they're being used for purposes other than which we approve them generally.

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Within the realm of equipment, which is what we authorized, but we did it, we watched price this amount of money based upon the.

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10 20 50 thousand.

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But when you completely change, it's appropriate for the administration to come back in and talk to counsel about that. In this particular case, the bonding authorization ppyou is for 15 years and many of the purchases for which they proposed use. The funding are really periods of preferable. Usefulness of five years.

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So and we are begins, their.

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Bonding limits.

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So I think this saying.

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On these, so we have reduced this to what they have encumbered or spent already plus, recognizing that the budget office led them to believe that they didn't need to come in for a special bond. The appropriation basically about two hundred and eighty thousand dollars left in this in this particular bond and revoking our authorization for the balance.

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To spend money on these things, especially because we're up against our definite this is one way right sizing rather than having them have like. Essentially another $800,000 sitting here that they use.

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That'll be fast also, resolutions introduced first, one, the reappointment Miss Jones to the parking authority will go to planning okay, next one's a 1225 finance resolution, the adjustment of salary and a PD.

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It's going to go to finance also.

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The four twelve twenty is to the Medicaid ones by me: I'm going to introduce it and hold it, but just holding it.

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We just served back from the governor's office, there's some stuff going on with the budget.

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Waiting it out today, right.

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That's good right and lastly, five, twelve twenty considering to salary adjustments between the city of Albany and International Brotherhood, that's going to that's a pass right financed and that's that'll be passed.

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To members and I work or at the table at the landfill hole, yeah.

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Yeah yeah makes sense when you think of it, so.

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That's it for the agenda.

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Anything no I just wanted.

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Different pieces of paper you could have of the two long ones. One is.

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Yeah tell you're using it so, okay with that.

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I missing anything anything.

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Right so motion to do.

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Britain or the flash.

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Comics know about 20 minutes.