Auburn City Council held off on a new four-year electricity supply contract Thursday after council members raised concerns about a nearly 40% increase in the proposed fixed rate and asked for more information about variable-rate alternatives before committing the city through 2030.
Council unanimously tabled the proposed contract with ENGIE, while approving a $190,000 stream restoration and culvert replacement project at Hoopes Park, accepting $29,400 for additional police traffic enforcement and authorizing an application for up to $40,000 in protective equipment for specialized police units.
The meeting also included an extended discussion about how the city should handle future grant applications, updates on the Lake Avenue bridge project and downtown parking system, public concerns about housing, homelessness and Hoopes Park, and confirmation that a disabled veterans property tax exemption is expected to come before council later this month.
Electricity contract delayed over cost concerns
City staff had recommended awarding ENGIE a 48-month electricity supply contract at 9.089 cents per kilowatt-hour beginning Oct. 1 and running through Sept. 30, 2030.
The city currently pays roughly 6.55 cents per kilowatt-hour for most of its electric accounts, meaning the proposed fixed rate represented a substantial increase. The city sought pricing for its 106 electric meters and received proposals from four qualified suppliers.
Staff recommended the longer contract because electricity prices have been rising and a fixed rate would give Auburn cost stability over the next four years.
Councilor Terrence Cuddy initially described locking in the rate as the more conservative approach, particularly given uncertainty in energy markets.
Councilor Craig Diego, however, said he became concerned after calculating the impact of the higher rate and discussing the numbers with City Comptroller Mary Beth Leeson. Diego said the increase could add roughly $180,000 in electricity supply costs and questioned whether the city had sufficient money budgeted to absorb it.
Leeson said she had budgeted an increase of about $217,000 when comparing the city’s two budget years but acknowledged the city had already exceeded its prior electricity budget. She said, in retrospect, an increase closer to $320,000 to $350,000 may have been more appropriate.
The discussion then turned to a variable pricing option that council members had previously been shown. Diego said a quoted base rate under 2 cents per kilowatt-hour appeared dramatically cheaper than the fixed contract.
Leeson clarified that the quoted variable figure did not represent the complete electricity supply price. Additional market-based charges would be added, meaning the city could not simply compare that number directly with the 9.089-cent fixed proposal.
That distinction prompted several council members to request more information.
Diego questioned whether the previous presentation had given council enough information to understand the real cost of the variable option and proposed delaying the contract for one week. Cuddy and Councilor Christina Calarco also said they wanted historical examples showing what the full variable rate would have been over the past year or two.
Mayor James N. Giannettino Jr. supported getting a more direct comparison and said the city will also need to closely monitor electricity use and find savings elsewhere if utility costs run above budget.
The council voted to table the ENGIE contract while staff seeks additional information.
Hoopes Park restoration project moves forward
Council unanimously approved an agreement with the Cayuga County Soil and Water Conservation District for a $190,000 restoration project along the stream running from the Walnut Street culvert toward Hoopes Park Pond.
The county district obtained Eastern Finger Lakes Coalition funding for the work and will manage the project in cooperation with Auburn’s engineering and public works staff.
Auburn’s contribution is valued at $23,750 and will be provided through in-kind labor and equipment rather than a direct cash match.
The project is intended to address erosion, unstable streambanks and a deteriorating crossing near the pond.
Plans call for bank grading, erosion protection, native vegetation, riparian buffers and other stabilization work. The existing culvert will be replaced by a reinforced concrete bottomless arch designed to improve stream flow while maintaining the natural streambed.
The new crossing will also be designed to support maintenance vehicles and emergency equipment traveling along the park’s inner trail.
Giannettino asked Director of Municipal Utilities Seth Jensen whether the project would also address algae problems in Hoopes Park Pond.
Jensen said it would not directly solve that issue because the nutrients entering the pond come from a larger watershed. The restoration could reduce some erosion and sediment entering the pond from the section of stream being repaired, but broader nutrient-loading problems would require work farther upstream.
The issue of Hoopes Park had already surfaced during public comment.
Resident Dorothy Lengo urged council to support the restoration project but said the park faces additional problems involving dead and diseased trees and deterioration of the clubhouse chimney. She called for the city to take a broader look at the long-term health of the park.
Later in the meeting, Cuddy asked whether existing urban forestry grant money could be used for tree work at Hoopes Park.
Director of Capital Projects and Grants Christina Selvek said the federal urban forestry funding Auburn received is geographically restricted by census data, and Hoopes Park is in a portion of the city that is not eligible for reimbursement under that program.
She said staff would look for other funding opportunities.
City officials also noted Auburn again has an arborist on staff and could potentially address dangerous trees through normal city operations. City Manager Jenny Haines said staff would work with the arborist to determine where those trees rank among existing priorities.
Police traffic enforcement grant accepted
Council unanimously accepted a $29,400 Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee grant for the Auburn Police Department.
The one-year grant begins Oct. 1 and reimburses the city for supplemental police personnel costs tied to traffic enforcement.
Funding will support programs including Click It or Ticket, Buckle Up New York and targeted enforcement in areas identified through crash and traffic data involving speeding, distracted driving and aggressive driving.
There is no local match, and the money cannot be used to purchase equipment.
The grant award allocates $25,200 for regular Police Traffic Services enforcement and $4,200 for seat-belt mobilization enforcement.
Giannettino said traffic enforcement is among the complaints city officials regularly hear from residents and thanked Police Chief Matthew Androsko for pursuing the funding.
Police seek protective equipment for specialized units
Council also unanimously authorized the Police Department to apply for up to $40,000 from the Firehouse Subs Public Safety Foundation.
If awarded, the money would be used for rifle-rated ballistic vests, ballistic helmets and rifle-rated shields.
Androsko explained that the equipment is intended for the department’s crisis negotiation and drone teams, not its emergency response team.
Those personnel can be called to the same critical incidents as tactical officers, including barricaded gun situations, but do not currently have the same level of rifle-rated protection.
The chief said negotiators may be working to de-escalate a situation while drone operators provide aerial information, putting those units near potentially dangerous scenes.
The grant carries no local match.
Council settles on approach for future grants
The two police grants prompted a broader discussion about how Auburn should handle grant applications and awards.
Council members had previously raised questions about whether staff should receive council authorization when applying for grants, when awards should return for formal acceptance and whether those actions should be separated into different resolutions.
Diego said the city should follow a consistent process instead of handling different grants differently without a clear reason.
Other council members agreed consistency was important but said there may be individual grants that deserve additional scrutiny before council authorizes acceptance.
Overstreet-Wilson said council should have enough information before approving grants involving programs or technologies that could later raise policy concerns.
Selvek explained that Auburn works with several different categories of grants, including formula-based programs, competitive state and federal grants, and private foundation funding. Some require council authorization before an application can be filed, particularly when local matching funds are involved, while others do not.
She said the most efficient approach for staff, finance and auditing purposes would generally be one resolution covering application and acceptance when appropriate.
Council reached a consensus to use that as the standard approach while retaining the ability to separate application and acceptance when members believe a particular grant requires additional review.
Staff also will continue bringing proposed grants to council before application when a local financial match is required.
Parking complaints continue during public comment
Downtown parking again dominated part of the public comment period, with residents offering competing views of Auburn’s transition toward app-based payment.
Tom Odessa supported the move toward newer technology and argued that mobile parking applications can reduce hardware and operating costs.
Sue Weeby, who owns Regenerations, said surveys she conducted produced hundreds of responses, most of them negative toward the current parking system. She questioned whether the city needs to charge for downtown parking at all and criticized the usability of the payment system.
Elizabeth Rao also raised concerns about the Pango parking app, including transaction charges and accessibility for people who may not have smartphones, credit cards or accounts that meet the platform’s requirements.
During the city manager’s report, Haines said Auburn continues working with the Downtown Auburn Business Improvement District on the new pay-to-park system. The BID has purchased parking vouchers as part of an education program for downtown businesses.
Parking kiosks remain available in the central downtown area and in the city parking garage.
Giannettino later connected parking costs to Auburn’s broader financial pressures, noting that electricity costs at the downtown garage have risen significantly in recent years.
Housing and homelessness concerns raised
Public comment also included calls for stronger action on poor rental housing conditions and homelessness.
Resident James Udall urged the city to make more information about problem landlords readily available to prospective tenants and questioned inspection requirements for rental properties. He also argued that tenants can face displacement when dangerous conditions result in a property being condemned.
Kerry Bailey, who said he moved to Auburn nine months ago, spoke about encounters with young people and adults experiencing homelessness. He urged officials to consider ways vacant housing could be used to provide greater stability for people living on the street.
The meeting included no formal council action on either issue.
Lake Avenue bridge remains on schedule
Haines also provided council with an update on the Lake Avenue bridge project.
The city’s total contract value is more than $6.9 million, with approximately $1.46 million paid to date.
Substantial completion remains scheduled for July 16, 2027, and staff reported no anticipated change orders.
Work completed since the previous update includes pier tuck-pointing, removal of the bridge deck and sidewalks, removal and capping of an abandoned gas main, installation of ground-mounted stop signs at the Osborne Street intersection and installation of a new controller in the existing traffic signal on Owasco Street.
Structural steel work has also begun, the south approach slab has been removed and scaffolding has been installed for repairs to the southern wing wall.
Upcoming work includes additional steel and concrete repairs, removal of the north approach slab and excavation near the north wing walls.
Crews also uncovered a Stapleton fruit blend soda bottle while excavating for the old gas main. City officials said the brand was bottled in Auburn in the early to mid-1900s.
Veterans exemption scheduled for Sept. 24
Before council entered executive session, Diego asked about a proposed property tax exemption for veterans with 100% service-connected disabilities.
Haines said the matter is planned for the Sept. 24 City Council agenda and confirmed council will need to vote on whether Auburn opts into the exemption.
Council then moved into executive session to discuss one matter involving the lease of real property, one involving the employment history of a particular person and four matters involving collective negotiations.
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