After an ordinance was introduced to establish several new handicapped parking places, Councilman Anthony Chiappone asked that the information used to make a person qualified be given to the Town Council.
Chiappone said he wanted to see the nuts and bolts of the investigation as to how a person qualifies.
But Chris Patella, city counsel, said some of the information may be private because it involved medical records – especially under newer, stricter privacy laws.
Chiappone said he believed that residents gave up their rights to privacy when they applied to the city for special parking. Councilwoman Maria Karczewski sharply disagreed, saying that she was uncomfortable in seeking such records and believed that they were not public information regardless of the application.
The process for seeking a special parking spot involves an investigation by the Police Department where information is collected to determine whether a person meets the state definition for handicapped.
The information is sent to the state, which makes the determination, and then the Police Department sends the request for the spot to the council to approve the spot. Locally, the police investigate the street conditions as to where a spot can be located.
But sensitive medical records remain sealed from public disclosure, even from the Town Council.
Patella said he felt that making them public might discourage a needy person from seeking a spot.
“What happens if someone is HIV positive?” Patella asked. “That’s not information I think a person would feel comfortable being available to the public.”
The attorney said beside sensitive medical information, applications also contain things like Social Security Numbers and other private information.
Council President Vincent Lo Re said the Law Department might be able to give the council a sample application with the name and other sensitive information blotted out, so that council members could see what data was used in making the spots available.
Chiappone said he was interested in determining a variety of matters, including whether or not there is a temporary nature to the request that after some time should be reexamined to determine if the spot is still needed later.
Removing the lien from the golf course property
The City Council is poised to remove a lien against the former city dump property now that a new golf course is on schedule for completion.
The lien was imposed on the project several years ago when it fell behind on its schedule, and the city threatened to take the land back.
During the interim, the project was taken over by Empire Golf, who has a good tract record for advancing the project, supplying necessary information and other regards.
The public walkway that will run along the water is expected to open in September, Council President Lo Re said, with the target for the golf course opening in the Spring.
Joseph Nichols, the city tax assessor, said removing the lien now would allow improve the property’s assessment in time for the Oct. 1 deadline and would allow the additional revenue to flow into the city coffers next year. If the city were to wait until the official opening, the increase in assessment due to the lien’s removal would not go into effect until the following tax year.
The agreement with the city used the beginning of planting as the criteria for removing the lien, and Empire began to plant last week.
Common data computer system
Because the current system for data management in the construction code department is antiquated, the city council is seeking bids on a new system that would allow information to be shared by various departments.
The current system, according to Nichols, has serious drawbacks. The new system would save time in entering data and would allow departments to draw on each other’s information.
This would include the tax assessor’s office, the Building Department and others, with up to 21 terminals in the initial installation but with options to add up to 50 or more users at an additional cost.
The new system would incorporate all old information as part of the contract, but would be updated with new information by staff members to the various departments.
Karczewski, however, was concerned about the additional system and its impact on the city’s one technical employee. The city currently only has one person who is assigned to maintain as many as six or seven computer systems, and Nichols admitted this would be another operating system that would fall on that employee’s shoulders.
Other matters
In other matters, the City Council will vote down an ordinance creating a radio interference zone until experts regarding the regulation can appear before the council and explain its impact.
Lo Re said the ordinance has been tabled again and again while waiting for the information, and it would be better just to remove the item from the agenda until the council is better informed on the matter.
Meanwhile, the City Council will consider an ordinance establishing development fees and an Affordable Housing Trust Fund provided they get a report from the Planning Board. This ordinance has also been tabled several times because of the Planning Board’s busy schedule and may again be tabled at the Aug. 17 meeting.
The council is expected to establish the position of “Deputy Clerk,” in order to circumvent Civil Service rules that would prevent the person currently working as Acting Assistant Clerk from getting the job. Civil Service regulations apparently have a seniority component requirement, and an appointment to the job could be challenged by someone with more seniority. A deputy clerk position is an annual appointment made by the council and falls outside Civil Service regulation, but the post requires a yearly reappointment, where as assistant clerk would not.
The council will also introduce an ordinance at its Aug. 17 meeting that will amend current operations of the city dog run to meet state requirements. The ordinance would place the operations under the jurisdiction of the director of Public Works.