Amsterdam council approves bonds, contracts and ordinances; adopts multiple resolutions

The Amsterdam Common Council on (date not specified) approved a series of resolutions and ordinances, including bond authorizations for capital projects, a $188,290 mechanical contract for the municipal golf course clubhouse, mémoranda of understanding for bike-repair stations and bus-stop facilities, and two local ordinances updating notice requirements and rules for cannabis- and tobacco-related businesses.

The council front-loaded final decisions: aldermen voted to increase the estimated maximum cost and useful life for a street-lighting project and to authorize an additional $946,266 in bonds; separately the council authorized issuance of $4,112,000 in bonds to pay for a package of capital works that the resolution describes as a new public space (boardwalk and splash pad) and the purchase of golf carts.

Why it matters: the bond votes set the local financing for projects the city has planned for months, and several of the contracts and intergovernmental agreements approved on the agenda move those projects from planning toward construction or procurement.

What the council approved and voted on

Votes at a glance

- Resolution 2425-135: Award mechanical contract for the municipal golf course clubhouse. Be it resolved that Advanced Mechanical LLC is awarded the mechanical contract in the amount of $188,290 and the mayor is authorized to execute agreements. Motion moved and adopted (roll call: Council members recorded Aye). The contract award was discussed earlier on the agenda; staff said pre-construction is scheduled for later in the month.

- Resolution 2425-136: Appointment of an alternate member to the planning commission. The council approved the appointment of Mike DeMars. The roll call recorded one abstention (Alderman Quistamars) and otherwise Aye votes.

- Resolution 2425-137: Authorization to execute a release resolving a check-fraud claim. The council approved accepting the city's insurance carrier's offer to resolve claims for $27,500 after an incident that the resolution describes as a misappropriation of $32,000. The resolution authorized the mayor to execute the proposed release.

- Resolution 204205-1308: Memorandum of understanding with Capital Roots to provide two Dero bike “Fix-It” stations and six U-shaped bike racks. The council approved the MOU; one member said the resolution lacked detail but the motion passed.

- Resolution 2425-139: Correction to a prior resolution about the sale of 13 McDonald Street. The council corrected the listed sale price from $5,000 to the correct $2,600 and approved the correction.

- Resolution 2425-140: The sponsor moved to withdraw this resolution (to amend a Velo Associates contract for the Complete Streets plan to include Skyler Street reconstruction); the council granted the withdrawal.

- Resolution 2425-142: Contract authorization with CDTA Facilities Inc. for installation of a bus stop, customer shelter and related work on Church Street. The council approved the contract; one member explained the resolution packet had limited summary information but the motion passed.

- Resolution 2425-143: Lease with Cranesville Properties LLC for placement of the Church Street bus stop. The council approved the lease (roll call Aye).

- Resolution 2425-144: Amendment to the prior bond resolution (01/03/2023) to increase the estimated maximum cost for the lighting project to $2,893,266, extend the period of probable usefulness to 30 years under Local Finance Law §11, and to add a $1,100,000 New York State Financial Restructuring Board grant into the financing plan. The council approved the amendment.

- Resolution 2425-145: Authorization to issue $4,112,000 in bonds to pay for capital items identified in the resolution (including a boardwalk/splash pad and golf carts). The council approved the bond issuance.

- Ordinance 1 of 2025 (Ordinance A): Amendments to Chapter 157 of the Amsterdam City Code to codify prior written-notice-of-defect procedures and limit exposure from electronically submitted defect reports. The council adopted the ordinance following a public hearing.

- Ordinance 2 of 2025 (Ordinance B): Modifications to Chapter 250 to define and regulate licensed adult-use cannabis microbusinesses, smoke shops and tobacco/vape consumption businesses (special-use permitting, spacing/buffering and revised penalties). The council adopted the ordinance following a public hearing.

Other adopted items included approval of the audit and four consent resolutions adding the CDTA and Cranesville agreements and the bond amendments to the agenda and records.

Key discussion and staff updates

Street lighting and maintenance: City staff reported that approximately 1,100 street lights of roughly 1,900 have been replaced with LEDs as part of the lighting project. Staff said about six or seven of the newly installed lights have been reported out and those cases have been referred to the project manager for repair. The council asked staff to confirm which contractor will handle ongoing maintenance once the installation contractor completes the project, and to provide a schedule for repairs to lights that remain dark.

Water infrastructure: Staff said a replacement pressure-reducing valve for Henrietta Street has been delivered and that the work will require shutting Henrietta for approximately 24 hours when weather permits.

Parking enforcement and PreED: Council members said they have been accepted into a system called PreED (which reports unpaid tickets to the Department of Motor Vehicles) aimed at making nonpayment of parking tickets have registration consequences. The goal is to give the city an enforcement tool for repeat ticket nonpayers.

Public comment on parking: Business owner Brent Yeager of What A Bargain spoke during public comment, saying customers had been ticketed while he believes they were following the agreed parking arrangement for Northern Boulevard. Yeager asked the council and police to review the incidents and report back; the council said the police chief had produced a report and aldermen would follow up.

Complete Streets/Skyler Street: Alderman Marticello moved to withdraw a resolution to amend a Velo Associates contract to add Skyler Street reconstruction, saying constituents raised concerns about parking and traffic impacts and requesting a meeting with the state Department of Transportation. He said he would withdraw the resolution rather than table it; the council accepted the withdrawal.

Administrative notes and forward items

- The council scheduled a rules-and-procedure committee meeting after the Feb.18 common council meeting to review charter provisions and internal rules.

- The mayor and staff announced a planned snow emergency beginning at 6 a.m. Thursday (date not specified) because of forecasted ice and snowfall; council members discussed communicating the declaration and enforcement steps to residents.

- The council agreed to hold an executive session at the end of the meeting to discuss personnel matters; no action was expected after the closed session.

Ending

Council members said they will follow up on outstanding questions about ownership and maintenance language in several of the agreements approved tonight and will provide more detailed summaries on request. Several votes that night were contingent on details in the underlying contracts; council members asked staff to circulate the contract summaries and dollar amounts within resolution text in future packets.