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Council accepts multiple grants for safety, trees, lighting and IT; debates language in debt-advisory contract
Summary
At its Oct. 15 meeting the council accepted several grants — a roadway safety action plan, tree-planting in North Park, LED lighting replacements, and IT email protection renewal — and debated contract language for a strategic municipal-advisory services agreement (CMA) to assist with debt sales before approving it with conditions on post-approval changes.
The council approved a package of grant acceptances and related budget moves on Oct. 15 that city staff said will enable several near-term projects and strengthen the city's ability to apply for additional funds.
Grants approved included a federal roadway-safety action-plan award that will fund analysis and later enable competitive funding requests for intersection and corridor safety improvements (staff emphasized coordination with Nassau County for county-owned roads such as Long Beach Road and Park Avenue). The city will provide in-kind match (police, DPW time) rather than cash for the initial phase.
A tree-planting grant (approx. $100,000 allocated with $80,000 for trees and $20,000 to reimburse in‑house planting labor) will fund a couple-hundred trees in the North Park area; staff said warranty provisions (typically one year) and species selection for salt tolerance are part of procurement discussions. Council and public commenters urged use of local arborists, master gardeners and the Environmental Advisory Committee to inform species selection and maintenance plans.
Two lighting grants (federal and NYSERDA) to convert fixtures to LED at municipal facilities — including the ice arena and water plant — were accepted; staff estimated electricity savings of more than $30,000 per year. The council also authorized renewal of Barracuda email protection and backup services for approximately 225 accounts and asked staff to produce a consolidated summary of the city’s overall security/license costs for Microsoft 365 and other protections.
In finance, council debated language in a proposed agreement with CMA Strategic Consulting to assist the city with municipal debt sales. Several council members questioned a clause in the resolution that allowed the city manager discretion to make “other such terms and conditions” when executing the contract. Staff and the controller explained that the phrase allows minor administrative fixes and that any material increase in contract value above statutory thresholds (more than $20,000) would require council approval. After debate the council approved the agreement; staff also disclosed prior litigation referenced in the contract and said CMA is defending itself.
