Syracuse council reviews sewer, tree treatments, grants and housing agreements; several items held for later votes

Syracuse City Councilors on Monday reviewed a slate of infrastructure, parks, public-safety and housing items including a $13.7 million Sedgwick combined-sewer separation project, proposed agreements to treat ash and hemlock trees, a $50,000 anti-violence grant and multiple shelter-rent and zoning actions — while tabling or scheduling several items for future votes.

The council heard the most detailed presentation from Mary Robinson, the city engineer, on an authorization needed to hire CNS Engineers for the Sedgwick combined sewer separation project. Robinson said the total project cost is $13,700,000 and, if the city receives the planned grant, New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation would reimburse 50 percent. The proposed agreement with CNS would not exceed $2,295,500 and must be submitted to NYS EFC as part of the grant application.

Why it matters: Combined-sewer separation projects change how stormwater and sewage are handled in older neighborhoods and can affect flood risk, sewer overflows and long-term operating costs.

Also on the agenda, Steve Harris, the city arborist, described two proposed agreements with Onondaga County Soil and Water to treat the city’s ash trees (to address Emerald Ash Borer impacts) and hemlocks (to combat hemlock woolly adelgid). Harris said Syracuse had about 2,200 ash trees in 2010 and the city has removed roughly half of them over time; remaining ash receive treatment on a rotating schedule. On hemlocks, Harris said the pest “looks like little cotton puffs along the spine of the leaves” and that the city has small hemlock stands in parks such as Heath Park and Rantract that the program would treat.

Parks commissioner Saisha Byrd also briefed the council on a proposed $60,000 agreement with TNT/Tomorrow Neighbors Today and artist Art Grama for two murals under the City as Canvas program. Byrd said half the payment would be made at initiation and the other half on completion; she thanked Councilor Montel for helping secure the funding.

Public-safety and workforce items included a $50,000 award from the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services under an anti-violence initiative, presented by Deputy Chief Rich Shaffer; he said the funds would go to equipment, uniforms, field trips, registration fees, marketing and related expenses and require no local match. Fire Chief Mike Monza described a proposed three-year agreement that would let students in the PSLA fire-rescue program use the department’s training facility for state- and nationally certified firefighting courses; Monza said the program has worked with the district for about seven-and-a-half years and that state certification requires students to be 18.

Housing and zoning items drew questions and a mix of outcomes. Michael Collins, commissioner of Neighborhood and Business Development, explained an amendment to Ordinance 106 of Feb. 2024 to revise terms for the Maria Regina/Home Leasing shelter-rent agreement. He said the project was scaled back from 181 to 156 units after a recent fire removed 25 units from the original plan. Collins said the developer and city are coordinating demolition so that surviving structures, including a chapel and portions of the mother-house complex, are protected; he also said the developer has discussed preserving certain artifacts such as cornerstones.

Councilors were also briefed on a shelter-rent agreement for East Adams Phase 1 (901 South State Street) proposing 117 units; staff reported earlier inconsistencies among draft documents had been reconciled. Jake Dishaw, deputy commissioner of Code Enforcement and Zoning, presented multiple zoning and map-maintenance items to assign district designations to recently resubdivided parcels (including an R-2 assignment), and two restaurant proposals for neighborhood sites at 427 Milton and 1641 West Tennessee.

Other operational items: Deputy Commissioner of Finance Vicki Boss said staff are compiling vendor proposals for municipal parking enforcement (“Paylock”) so councilors can compare costs and service models; she reported discussions with vendors Barnacle and LAZ/Parking and that proposals remain outstanding. Commissioner of Finance Mike Hennessy asked the council to consider raising the informal procurement threshold from $1,500 to $3,000 (reducing verbal-quote requirements); he said the change was intended to reduce administrative burden and align better with federal guidance.

What the council did: Several agenda items were held or set for later action. Councilors announced they will vote on the city budget at a 1:30 p.m. session tomorrow. Councilors agreed to hold item 11 (committee meeting) and item 26 (the proposed purchase-and-sale of three lots on Seymour and West Onondaga to facilitate the Mission Exchange Building). Multiple other items were presented for authorization or review but no final roll-call votes were recorded in the meeting transcript.

The meeting closed with a moment of silence for Van Robinson, a long-serving local leader, after which a motion to adjourn was made and seconded.

Notes: The meeting transcript reflects presentations and requests for authorization across many items; where staff described dollar amounts, grant sources and project limits those figures are reported above.