This was a quick meeting, and only one item drew any comment. Much of the agenda looked ahead, either to winter or to projects that are still in the planning stage.

The biggest dollar item was at the Water Resource Recovery Facility, the city’s sewage treatment plant. The board hired Barton & Loguidice for up to $365,000 for engineering investigation and design work tied to proposed future upgrades at the plant. This contract pays for studying and designing the work, not for construction. The same facility was the subject of the board’s largest contract of the year in April.

Winter preparations took up two items. The board moved $85,000 out of the city’s account for legal judgments and claims and into snow removal supplies to pay for road salt through the end of the year. It then tabled a two-year agreement with Oneida County. Under that deal, Rome would plow and salt 15.01 miles of county roads inside city limits, and the county would pay the city $108,747 for the coming season and $114,076 for the next. Guiliano asked to hold off because the county’s description of which roads the city plows had errors, and he wants a corrected list before the board votes. The agreement is written to start November 1.

The board settled a lawsuit brought by Tractor Supply Co. over the assessed value of its Rome property, which is the figure used to calculate a property owner’s taxes. Under the settlement, the property will be assessed at $1,372,000 for 2025 and $1,285,200 for 2026, and the 2026 figure will stay in place through 2028. The resolution states that the city will not issue any refunds as part of the deal.

A long-running land arrangement also moved forward. In 2005, the city agreed to build water, sewer, and road connections along Forest Lane and Ironwood Drive to serve a townhouse development owned by James J. Cilente, with the cost charged to properties in the area. According to the resolution, Cilente now plans to sell his remaining lots to a developer for a large housing project. To clear the way, he will settle the remaining infrastructure charges with a single $45,000 payment and give the city about 1.43 acres of vacant land off Turin Road. The city will also formally take ownership of streets it has already been maintaining for years.

The board approved a grant services agreement with the Rome Community Brownfield Restoration Corporation connected to RESTORE NY, a state program that helps communities redevelop vacant and run-down buildings. The resolution caps the agreement at $3,969,000 but does not explain how that amount breaks down, and the figure was not read aloud during the meeting.

The board also approved a personal services agreement with Fire Chief Michael Reilly, recommended by Commissioner of Public Safety Kenneth White. The terms were attached to the resolution and were not discussed.

The rest of the business was small. The board booked American Fireworks Display for $3,850 to put on a show at the Holiday Christmas Tree Lighting on November 27. It agreed to host one Madison-Oneida BOCES student in an unpaid internship with the Department of Public Works through June, with BOCES covering the student’s insurance. And it moved $2,000 within the parks budget to help pay for a replacement trailer.