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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09-03-2015 Town Board Special Meeting Minutes-ApprovedTown of Virgil Regular Meeting 09/03/2015 1 TOWN OF VIRGIL PUBLICC HEARING AND SPECIAL MEETING SEPTEMBER 3rd, 2015 PRESENT: Supervisor John Kaminski, Board Members Dale Taylor, Eric Snow and Matthew Denniston, (Member Jereme Stiles Excused) Town Clerk/Collector Alane Van Donsel, John Morse Highway Superintendent, Rick Horner Asst. Highway Superintendent, Sheila Morse, Bob and Christine Applegate, Jeff Stewart, Jim Murphy, Barb Bean, Paul Slowey, Jeffrey Hall, Kathy Jensen, Kathleen Taylor, Floyd Parker, John Whittleton, Sue Connelly, Tom Dumas, Craig Umbehauer, John Carroll, David Denniston, Ron Denniston, Stacey Kelsey and . 7:00 PM – PUBLIC HEARING: Supervisor Kaminski called the Public Hearing to order. Kaminski asked the Virgil Town Clerk to read the legal Notice that was published in the Cortland Standard. Kaminski then said that this was an opportunity for members of the public to make comment on the Proposed Local Law #1 of 2015. He asked residents to state their name and address and to limit their comments to 3 minutes. He said that if they wish to have more time they can make a second comment. Jim Murphy of 1122 Rte: Mr. Murphy commented that he has been a resident of Virgil for the past 43 years. He served on the Virgil Town Board for 24 years. He said he had to constantly remind himself that he was a part-time politician and that he looked for input from the state and county, Planning department and highway department. Murphy said he would never do anything without checking with the state. He felt it would be a disservice to take away the vote from the people and to put that decision in a handful of town board members. He felt that the electoral process helps with integrity. Murphy felt that the Highway Department was in better shape than ever. He said that there have been several good Highway Superintendents and he would like to see voter’s votes to count. John Carole 481 Nye Road: Mr. Carole made comments starting with a question. Mr. Carol asked if there was anyone in the room who felt they were infallible. No one responded. He continued by saying that the petition by the Klessig’s says that they want to make a change in the current law which says that the Highway superintendent has to be a resident. Carole said having a wider pool may not necessarily mean finding a good person. He said that the Klessigs are failing to look at the other concerns from the audit and merely focusing in on this one area. He felt this was bringing on shame and disgrace to an individual that has done a good job. He said the minimum qualifications have not changed and that they mentioned that the Highway superintendent has sole control over CHIPS money. He didn’t feel these were good enough reasons to have his vote taken away. Mr. Carole said there are certain things he cherishes in life; one was his wife, who is no longer with us, his daughters and his vote. Mr. Carole asked that his vote not be taken away. Tom Dumas 478 Nye Road: Mr. Dumas said that he is not a native to Virgil, but he has lived here for 41 plus years. He too was worried about his vote being taken away. He was also concerned that if the Highway Superintendent was beholden to the board it wouldn’t be as good as being beholden to the residents who live on the roads being taken care of. He felt it was better for that person in that position to have to answer to the people rather than to the town board. He said he would like to see it stay the way it is. Floyd Parker 238 Snyder Hill Road: Mr. Parker said he is the street Superintendent for the Town of Marathon and he has 953 bosses. Mr. Parker was wondering why this discussion was coming up now and why is his right to vote maybe taken away. He agreed with Mr. Dumas, he has all the voters as his boss and he feels like his right to vote might be taken away and he doesn’t agree with it. Kate Eastman 2469 Clute Road: Mrs. Eastman said she doesn’t appreciate the potential of her vote being taken away. She said there is such a thing as the good old boys club and she is concerned about the future when none of the current board members are on the board. She said that we’re all going to be replaced and this decision may cause concerns down the road. She is concern that they may be setting the town up for issues down the road. John Littleton 508 Nye Road: Mr. Littleton said that a Democratic society is based on the right to vote. He felt that the responsiveness of elected officials to the needs of the people is better than folks that are appointed. He asked what if the county came into the town and said that they were going to take away the right for us to vote on who our supervisor was or who the Town board members were. He felt this is a similar scenario. Jeff Hall Tower Road: Mr. Hall said he has no problem changing the position to an appointment. He said there was recently a Town Clerk that was arrested and going to jail because she was doing what she wanted to do. The Highway Superintendent answers to no one and he has no problem changing it. David Denniston 337 West State Road: Mr. Denniston said he hasn’t stayed up on this issue. He would like to know before the power was given to the board how long of an appointment this would be. He wanted to know if there was a plan in place. He is concerned that without a plan in place there maybe concerns down the road especially when there is a new board. Denniston said he sat on the board when the Highway Superintendents position went form a two year term to a four year term and now he is concerned that they are talking about going in a different direction. Town of Virgil Regular Meeting 09/03/2015 2 Bob Applegate Van Donsel Road: Mr. Applegate said that he has attended quite a few town board meetings. He said that the board encouraged the public to request a vote on this issue. He said that John Morse is not planning on running again and he is concerned that they may not be blessed with someone with the same realm of experience. Applegate said he has heard repeatedly that the board is exasperated because the highway Superintendent is not around and that he is not required to be. There have been questions about the budget. The public was told that they needed a formal request for a referendum. Applegate says whatever happens there needs to be policies and procedures in place. He said the board is reluctant to do that. He said policies and procedures need to be put into place. Ronald Denniston: Mr. Denniston asked if this was an appointed position, would it be a civil service job? Supervisor Kaminski said that they can’t talk about that right now, as this is just a time for public comment. He said this will be discussed at the special meeting following the public hearing. Mr. Denniston said it makes a difference because if it is a civil service position, you couldn’t get rid of them. With no further business to discuss, Member Stiles moved to adjourn the regular meeting at 8:50 P.M., Member Denniston seconded the Motion. Vote: Ayes-Members Taylor, Snow, Denniston, Stiles and Kaminski. Nays: None. Respectfully Submitted by, Alane Van Donsel, Virgil Town Clerk Town of Virgil Regular Meeting 07/09/2015 1 TOWN OF VIRGIL REGULAR MEETING July 09th 2015 PRESENT: Supervisor John Kaminski, Board Members Dale Taylor, Eric Snow, Jereme Stiles and Matthew Denniston, Attorney Patrick Snyder Esq., Town Clerk/Collector Alane Van Donsel, John Morse Highway Superintendent, Douglas Withy W20perators, Jena Withy W2Operators, David Coish Yaws Environmental, Craig Umbehauer (Did not Sign Attendance Sheet), Wes Kryger Greek Peak, Christine Applegate, Judith Hope-Klessig, Dan Klessig, Kathleen Taylor, Lori Megivern, Stacy Kelsey (Did not sign attendance sheet) Shannon Anderson (Did not sign attendance sheet) and one other lady I do not know her name did not sign attendance sheet. 7:00 PM –TOWN HALL MEETING District Attorney Mark Stuben reported on criminal justice in Cortland County. Stuben stated that criminal justice cases are down both nationally and locally, however meaningful crimes are up. Stuben said there are four homicides pending in Cortland Country. Stuben said this is unprecedented, so in his opinion statistics don’t mean anything. He said that Cortland County was number one in Meth lad crimes. He wanted the public to be aware that a Meth lab can be considered a knapsack and 2 liter soda bottle. He said that is a real issue and it is destroying people both old and and that violent crimes are connected to drugs. Stuben said he has wonderful assistants. He is very proud of them. Stuben says he likes to be lenient on good citizens who make mistakes. He said texting while driving is a real problem and if caught it’s an automatic 5 points on your license. He also said that he is trying a case right now where a person committee homicide while texting. People need to not text and drive. Stuben spoke about the Child Advocacy Center. The Center has been running for three years and is totally funded by the state. The center receives up to $127,000 of state dollars a year. The center helps to streamline investigations of child sexual abuse cases. Everyone needs to talk to the child and in the past the child would have to repeat their story over and over, causing undue stress. The center has a sound proof room where only one trained professional interviews the child and the other people sit in another room they hear what is being discussed, and they are able to ask questions causing the least amount of impact on the child. Attorney Snyder asked if the District Attorney felt that recipients of DSS should be subject to drug testing. Stuben said he didn’t think it was a bad idea. In order to get employment people need to be dug tested, however he wasn’t sure how it would work. It would have to be a matter of policy because if you take away money from people it might be hurting kids, but he does like the idea. Town resident Judith Hope Klessig wanted to have a brief discussion regarding local law to help improve oversight of the town. She said she has been circulating a petition in order to change the residency requirement of the Town’s Highway Superintendent as well as to make the position appointed. Klessig said she has done research and felt that making this change would improve financial control. The petition was the formally given to the Town Clerk. Town Board Member Dale Taylor asked Attorney Snyder what the procedure was to change a position from an elected, to an appointed position. Snyder said that the board would have to enact a local law that would have a mandatory referendum that would take place at an election. He felt it made a lot of sense to time it to take place during the general election in November rather than to have a special election. Klessig asked if there needs to be a vote in order to change the residency requirement alone. Snyder felt that it would be up to the board. Snyder said it could specific to a certain position. Member Taylor asked if they could limit it to contiguous towns. Snyder said that makes good sense but they might want to consider contiguous counties as well. Town resident Applegate wondered how they would advertize that position. Member Taylor said in the paper. Taylor said that he would want the vote to be held at the regular election in November, but that the term of the new highway superintendent would not be until January 1st 2017. Snyder said that they can only change the law that a non-resident or residents can be appointed; a non resident could not be elected. He felt changing the residency and making the position appointed should be done at the same time. He said that rules say only residents of a town can be elected. Member Matt Denniston asked if there would be a term limit on an appointed person. It was stated it would be reviewed yearly at the reorganizational meeting. Town resident Lori Mcgivern asked why a non resident couldn’t be elected. Snyder said he has researched many cases and he has never found that scenario, but he will look some more, but he is not optimistic. Town of Virgil Regular Meeting 07/09/2015 2 7:30 PM – THE REGULAR MEETING WAS CALLED TO ORDER Supervisor Kaminski called the meeting to order, followed by the salute to the flag. RESOLUTION# 15-083 APPROVAL OF JUNE 2015 MINUTES Draft of Town Board Regular Meeting Minutes dated June 11th, 2015: Board member Stiles moved to approve the minutes of the June 11th 2015. The motion was seconded by Member Snow. Vote: Ayes-Members Taylor, Snow, Stiles, Denniston and Kaminski. Nays-None Draft of Town Board Special Meeting Minutes dated June 18th, 2015: Board member Stiles moved to approve the minutes of the June 18th 2015. The motion was seconded by Member Denniston. Vote: Ayes-Members Taylor, Snow, Stiles, Denniston and Kaminski. Nays-None RESOLUTION# 15-084 AUTHORIZATION TO PAY BILLS GENERAL FUND: Member Taylor moved to approve payment of the General Fund audited vouchers numbered 150-173 in the amount of $15,044.52. The motion was seconded by Member Snow. Vote: Ayes-Members Taylor, Snow, Stiles, Denniston and Kaminski. Nays-None HIGHWAY FUND: Member Taylor moved to approve payment of the Highway Fund audited vouchers numbered 1152- 1169 , in the amount of $341,135.46. The motion was seconded by Member Snow. Vote: Ayes-Members Taylor, Snow, Stiles and Denniston Kaminski. Nays-None. RECREATIONAL AREA CAPITAL PROJECT FUND: Member Stiles made a motion to pay voucher number 4001, in the amount of $1,170.00. The motion was seconded by Member Denniston. Vote: Ayes-Members Taylor, Snow, Stiles and Denniston Kaminski. Nays-None. SEWER DISTRICT #1: Member Taylor moved to approve payment of the Sewer District #1 audited vouchers numbered 2067-2074 in the amount of $7,998.19. The motion was seconded by Member Snow. Vote: Ayes-Members Taylor, Snow, Stiles, Denniston and Kaminski. Nays-None WATER DISTRICT #1: Member Taylor moved to approve payment of the Water District #1 audited vouchers numbered 3026-3039, In the Amount of $4,120.04. Member Snow seconded the motion. Vote: Ayes-Members Taylor, Snow, Stiles and Denniston Kaminski. Nays-None MONTHLY REPORT SUPERVISOR’S MONTHLY REPORT: Member Stiles moved to accept the Supervisor’s Monthly Report in long form for June 2015. Member Denniston seconded the motion. Vote: Ayes-Members Taylor, Snow, Denniston, Stiles and Kaminski. Nays-None TOWN CLERK’S MONTHLY REPORT: Member Taylor moved to accept the Town Clerk’s Monthly Report as presented for June 2015. The motion was seconded by Member Snow. Vote: Ayes-Members Taylor, Snow, Denniston, Stiles and Kaminski. Nays-None Town of Virgil Regular Meeting 07/09/2015 3 TAX COLLECTORS 2015 TOWN AND COUNTY CLOSING TAX REPORT: Tax Collector Van Donsel said that the Town Collected 95.71 % of the Town and County Taxes due. Van Donsel said the percentage was up by .71%. Van Donsel said that $10,189.03 was collected in late fees and penalties. This amount was turned over to the supervisor to go into the Town’s general fund. Member Stiles made a motion to accept the Tax Collectors final report. The motion was seconded by member Snow. Vote: Ayes-Members Taylor, Snow, Stiles and Denniston Kaminski. Nays-None. SEWER DISTRICT OPERATIONS REPORT: David Coish of Yaws Environmental Process Control, Inc. submitted a written report. Coish reported that he would like to replace the windows at the sewer plant. Coish said it will cost around $400 and that he would do all the work himself. Code Officer Umbehauer said that they needed to be up to energy code standards. Member Taylor mentioned that the CL17 was not operating correctly. Coish said it would cost approximately $3100 for a new one. Taylor asked if Coish could get three quotes. Taylor also asked about a report from the DEC SPEDS inspection regarding monitoring reports. Coish said it has been corrected. Coish said that the DEC wants paper copies posted at the sewer plant. Member Taylor made a motion to accept the Sewer District report for June 2015. The motion was seconded by Member Denniston. Vote: Ayes-Members Taylor, Snow, Denniston, Stiles and Kaminski. Nays- None RESOLUTION #15-085 APPROVAL OF THE PURCHASE OF NEW WINDOWS FOR THE SEWER TREATMENT PLANT: Member Stiles made a motion to purchase new windows for the sewer treatment plant not to exceed $400. The motion was seconded by Member Snow. Vote: Ayes-Members Taylor, Snow, Denniston, Stiles and Kaminski. Nays-None WATER DISTRICT OPERATIONS REPORT: A written report was submitted by W2Operatos. Member Taylor commented on the lack of report from last month. Doug Withy said that he made a mistake and sent it to the bookkeeper by mistake. He said he will not do that again. Withy said that there is an issue with unit 19D. He said the issue was detected last year, but they couldn’t figure out what was wrong. He said he thinks there may be some kind f leak, but all the tests did not show any. Withy said they were going to do a water audit once they get the numbers from the bookkeeper Gina Nourse. Withy said they are not pumping a lot of water. In the winter there is an influx of people, so it’s hard to pinpoint. Member Stiles said that they need to pinpoint where the excess water is coming from. Dave Coish asked if they called in Rural Water. Withey said that they did last year and they listened for leaks. He said usually they can get within 18 inches of a leak, but they found nothing. There was some discussion regarding valve boxes. Withy said they were raised, but not high enough. Withy said that some may not be able to be shut off. Some are ten feet deep and when there is a lot of water in the ground it makes a big mess. Withy is interested in putting up a storage shed. Member Stiles said he needs to get prices in order to follow the procurement policy. Withy said they have been mowing a lot to keep the grass down. Withy also introduced his daughter who will be working for the company. He said she is a recent graduate from Hartford. Member Taylor made a motion to accept the Water Districts report. The motion was seconded by Member Snow. Vote: Ayes-Members Taylor, Snow, Denniston, Stiles and Kaminski. Nays-None ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER’S REPORT: A written report was submitted by Lindsay Anderson of Country Acres Pet Services from Homer, NY. Member Stiles motioned to accept the Animal control Officers report. Member Denniston seconded the motion. Vote: Ayes-Members Taylor, Snow, Denniston, Stiles and Kaminski. Nays-None CODE ENFORCEMENT AND ZONING OFFICERS REPORT: A written codes report was submitted by Code and Zoning Officer Craig Umbehauer. There were some questions for Umbehauer regarding some ponds that are being put in on RTE 392. Umbehauer said that the DEC is putting in wildlife habitat ponds. The ponds are supposed to drain every year. Umbehauer said he’s going to check with the DEC. Member Snow asked Umbehauer about the house that burnt on RTE Town of Virgil Regular Meeting 07/09/2015 4 392 regarding clean up and concerns of Asbestos. Umbehauer said they are taking bids. Member Taylor was wondering on a time frame on which the cleanup will take place. Umbehauer did not know, but he does know the owner wants it taken care of. Taylor questioned about a pool that had no price listed. Umbehauer said the pool was given to the resident. Member Stiles made a motion to accept the Code and Zoning Officer’s report. The motion was seconded by member Snow. Vote: Ayes-Members Taylor, Snow, Stiles, Denniston and Kaminski. Nays-None. COUNTY LEGISLATOR’S REPORT: No reports were submitted this month. VIRGIL YOUTH COMMISSION REPORT: There was some discussion regarding the Youth Commission. Member Stiles was concerned because there is never an accountably report. Stiles said the payroll is run through the town and the town covers liability. Stiles said the town covers payroll for the “Before and After-School Program” and then is reimbursed. Stiles is concerned with Sandy Price being sick that there is no oversight of the program. Stiles said there was an incident the other day. Stiles would like to see all the money comes through the town. Stiles said he would like to make a motion to have the Youth Commission money comes back to the town. There was no second. Community Member Dan Klessig asked who funded the Youth Commission. Supervisor Kaminski said the money comes from the State. Stiles said it is run too loosely. Community Member Applegate asked what the history was. Kaminski said the commission was established in the mid sixties. The commission was appointed to oversee youth activities. It was a commission of people who made arrangement for events for youth. Sandy Price and Eddie Eaton got money from the State to run these activities. Kaminski asked if it was time to appoint a new commission. Stiles said the money should not be coming from anywhere else. Applegate asked how the board would go about establishing a new commission. Member Taylor said that in the seventies Jim Murphy ran the Youth Commission. Taylor suggested that someone talks to him. Stiles said it is pointless to have it on the agenda, if there is never a report. Klessig said the whole program needs to be looked at and analyzed. Taylor felt that the mission has changed. Community Member Kathy Taylor said that the Youth Commission has always stood for the good of the children with a lot of volunteers and everything they have ever done has been to benefit children. Taylor said the before and after school program is well utilized. Stiles said he is concerned about the liability. Taylor said that there are some personality clashes, but the program is well used. Community Member Stacy Kelsey said that all the money does not comes from the State; she said that the parents pay for the program. Kelsey said it’s not clear how much money is going in and how much going out. Kelsey said that there was money raised from the Harvest party that was turned over to the town and is sitting a safe somewhere. She felt very uncomfortable turning over the money. They were given a $100.00 and were told that was the last of the money in the Youth Commissions account, no one asked for receipts. Kelsey said she knows that Sandy Price has given a lot of herself to the town. Kaminski said that right now Eaton does the books, she will probably give the town the books, but he knows that her feelings will be hurt. He said she has volunteered her time for thirty years and that is just the reality of the situation. Stiles said he just wants to open it up for discussion and that he feels there is a problem. Klessig felt that the program needs some serious assessment. Kaminski asked what the board wants to do. Kathy Taylor asked if anyone was going to lose their job. Kaminski said that no matter what feelings are going to be hurt. Dale Taylor suggested that someone talks to James Murphy before there is any discussion with Eaton. He felt that Murphy would have a better handle on how the program was set up. Community Member Judith Hope Klessig said she felt it was a committee that was set up by many people, but now it’s only down to two people and one is ill. Taylor said he would call Murphy. Applegate suggested that Taylor talks to Eaton as well. Kaminski reiterated that her feelings are going to be hurt. Hope-Klessig wondered if they can use the excuse of the audit to broach the subject. Kaminski said he will do it tactfully, but he still knows she is going to be hurt. Taylor said they haven’t had a report in six months because Price has been ill. Stacey Kelsey said she would throw her hat in the ring. Kaminski said his concern is the “Before and After School Program”. There are employees that need Town of Virgil Regular Meeting 07/09/2015 5 to be overseen and that this service is very important to the community. Community Member Lori Megivern asked if the board really thought that Eaton would be upset, she felt she was a do it person and would understand. Kaminkis said he didn’t want her to think she was being attacked. HOPE LAKE OPERATIONS MONTLY REPORT: Member Stiles said that the boat has been purchases as well as the picnic tables. He said there were some issues with the picnic tables. Ten of them looked good, but 8 of them were covered in mold. Lowes is going to replace them with new ones. Member Taylor asked about the sand for the beach. Stiles said it has been a process. The Town had to set up an account and because it has taken longer than expected the company ran out of sand. Now the town has to wait for more same to be made at the quarry. Taylor said that he spoke to James Murphy about the sand and Murphy said that when the lake was made they had to use special sand to guarantee the clarity of the water. He said it has to be sand that will not muddy the water. Member Stiles made a motion to accept the Hope Lake Operations report. The motion was seconded by member Denniston. Vote: Ayes-Members Taylor, Snow, Stiles, Denniston and Kaminski. Nays-None. HIGHWAY SUPERINTENDENTS REPORT: Superintendent John Morse submitted a written report, but was unable to stay for the meeting as there were heavy rains and roads were beginning to flood. OLD BUSINESS HEALTH INSURANCE: Supervisor Kaminski said that they looked at an insurance package and the numbers looked good. He felt that there would be a significant savings to the town. He would like to invite the insurance company to the next board meeting to discuss the options. Member Taylor suggested that the highway workers get invited to the meeting. Kaminski said that the City is very happy with the consortium and that they are willing to wave the entry fee which would be a substantial savings. REVIEW RESPONSE TO COMPTROLLERS AUDIT: Member Taylor said that he and Supervisor Kaminski met and went by the template provided by the NYS Comptrollers to compile the response letter. Kaminski said that the penalties on water and sewer have already been addresses. Kaminski said that everything else needs to be established and implemented. Kaminski said that the bookkeeper will not be making decisions regarding late payment penalties. Community Member Chris Applegate asked if the board plans on doing a self audit monthly. Kaminski said that is up to the board. Kaminski said he would like to do it monthly. Kaminski said he signs fifty to two hundred checks a month. Member Taylor said that board members can audit on a rotating basis. Taylor also said that the Comptroller said that an annual audit was sufficient. Dan Klessig suggested that the audit be preformed quarterly. Kaminski said that the four board members need to decide. Stiles said he didn’t want to audit the records all at once. Member Taylor was wondering if it could be done quarterly and perhaps board members could rotate. Kaminski reiterated that the board will do a quarterly audit of the Town Supervisors books by two rotating board members. Discussion then turned to the Highway Department and fuel accountability. Supervisor Kaminski said that the Highway Superintendent has a job description and that the board can assign duties if they do not interfere with his regular duties, but the board cannot enforce it. Attorney Pat Snyder confirmed that. There were concerns because there was lack of accountability with fuel usage. Member Applegate asked if the responsibility falls on the Highway Superintendent, Supervisor Kaminski said no. He said it falls on the board for lack of oversight. He said it was because of poor record keeping. Taylor was concerned that Superintendent Morse might not take the recommendations; Taylor was concerned that he would not do them. Taylor said the board can’t even get him to put signs on a town vehicle, how will they get him to comply with accountability. Town of Virgil Regular Meeting 07/09/2015 6 TOWN HALL’S FLAG POLE: Supervisor Kaminski asked what was going on with the flag pole. Code and Zonieg Officer Craig Umbehauer said that he wasn’t able to find anyone to lift the pole. Member Stiles said that the ladder track will be in town the following day at 1:00PM. Stiles said that wrenches will have to be found to remove the pole from the base. RESOLUTION #15-085 RAISING THE PRICE OF THE TRANSFER STATION ID’S: Supervisor Kaminski said that the board approved the price raise back in January, but it wasn’t recorded in the minutes. Town Clerk Van Donsel looked through the minutes, but couldn’t find the resolution, so they need to formally raise the price. Member Stiles made a motion to raise the price of the Virgil Transfer Station ID to ten dollars for the first person in a house hold annually and an additional dollar for any other copies for other residents in a house hold. The motion was seconded by Member Denniston. Vote: Ayes-Members Taylor, Snow, Stiles, Denniston and Kaminski. Nays-None. NEW BUSINESS RESOLUTION #15-086 WILLIAMSON LAW CONTRACT: Member Stiles made a motion to accept the Williamson Law contract as presented. Member Taylor seconded the motion. Vote: Ayes-Members Taylor, Snow, Stiles, Denniston and Kaminski. Nays-None. CORTLAND COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT: There was some discussion regarding a fuel tank that is in the ground at Greek Peak. The land is owned by the Town of Virgil. The Cortland County Health Department said that the town must remove it. Member Stiles said the process has already been started. Stiles said that there is a 1000 gallon gas tank buried in the ground that has to be removed. Cortland Pump has been contacted. They will pull the tank and inspect it. Stiles said it’s expected to cost $1700.00. He said this is supposed to take place next week and that the Health Department is happy that it is taking place. Member Taylor asked if the board need to make a motion to commence with the job. Member Taylor made a motion to remove the old fuel tank with costs not to exceed $2500. Member Denniston seconded the motion. Vote: Ayes-Members Taylor, Snow, Stiles, Denniston and Kaminski. Nays-None. Some further discussion took place regarding an electronic sign that the fire department has purchased for the four corners of Virgil. The sign is costing the Fire Department $8000. Member Stiles and Fire Chief Jereme Stiles said that anyone will be able to put announcements on the sign. Member Taylor asked who was going to maintain the sign. It was determined that someone would be appointed to be the contact person. Community Member Dan Klessig asked who would authorize what gets put on the sign. Stiles said that the Fire Department would manage it. The sign will be in color and wills scroll. Stiles said this money was coming from funds that were raised by fundraising. Taylor said that he wondered if $2000 could come out of the community Development fund to help offset some of the cost to the fire department. RESOLUTION #15-087 USE OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FUND TO HELP FUND ELECTRONIC SIGN: Member Taylor made a motion to use $2000 of the Community Development Fund to put toward the electronic sign that will go on the four corners of Virgil. The motion was seconded by Member Snow. Vote: Ayes-Members Taylor, Snow, Stiles, Denniston and Kaminski. Nays-None. Town of Virgil Regular Meeting 07/09/2015 7 AUCTIONS INTERNATIONAL TRUCK BID: Supervisor Kaminski said that the bid for the highway truck came in low. It only came in at $6200. He was wondering if the board wanted to wait until fall to put it back up again. Member Taylor said that it doesn’t cost anything to put it on the website; he said that the buyers are the ones who pay the commission. Taylor said he didn’t want to spend any more money on repairs of the truck. Community Member Applegate asked if the Highway Department would use it. Kaminski said that if the truck breaks down it could cost four to six thousand and dollars to fix it. Member Stiles made a motion to sell the truck. Supervisor Kaminski Seconded the motion, but no vote was taken. Later on Member Stiles rescinded the motion. Member Denniston made a proposal that the town puts a ten thousand dollar for sale sign on the truck on the side of the road and see what happens. RESOLUTION #15-088 SELL DUMP TRUCK LOCALLY Member Denniston made a motion to try and sell the truck locally for $10,000. If the truck doesn’t sell to put the truck back on Auctions International on October 1st. The motion was seconded by member Stiles. Vote: Ayes-Members Taylor, Snow, Stiles, Denniston and Kaminski. Nays-None. RESOLUTON #15-089 ACCPETANCE OF FUEL LOG FOR THE VIRGIL HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT: Member Stiles made a motion to accept the fuel log as presented with supporting documentation such as who and what truck was used. The motion was seconded by Member Denniston. Vote: Ayes-Members Taylor, Snow, Stiles, Denniston and Kaminski. Nays- None. Some further discussion took place regarding electrical charges at Greek Peak. Supervisor Kaminski said that Al Kryger was questioning electrical charges. Kryger said that there was an agreement made regarding the billing. Kaminski said that the bookkeeper Gina Nourse will be going back in the minutes to see what was voted on. Town Hall Addition: Supervisor Kaminski said that the engineers need to look at the lighting to match up to what is present now. Also Taylor will be getting together with the Umbehauer regarding the current specs of the building, to make sure everything matches up. Supervisor Kaminski also said that Community Members Dan and Judith Klessig have a letter of petition that they circuited to get the position of Highway Superintendent changed from an elected position to an appointed position. Kaminski asked what the pleasure of the board was. Member Taylor said that if the position was appointed then the Highway Superintendent would serve at the pleasure of the board. He said the drawback is if three people run for the board with an agenda they can boot that person out. Member Stiles asked if this change was up to the board. Attorney Snyder said it was subject to a public referendum. Community Member Applegate asked if the town does decide to pass the referendum, would the board collect resumes. She also suggested that town residents be a part of the hiring committee. Judith Hope Klessig said some residents had concerns about appointing someone. They were concerned if it would be done openly and fairly. Kaminski said that John Morse will not be seeking reelection. Kaminski said that they have had stellar Superintendents in the past. He says you take a chance on whether or not they view themselves as public servants. Stiles said that the majority of the people to approve this. He went on to say that Harford tried it, but were unsuccessful. Kaminski said that the people vote on one day and that they do not see what the Superintendent does on a daily basis. Attorney Snyder said that the board will have to pass a resolution to draft a local law. Once the local law is adopted there is a certain amount of time before it can go to vote. Snyder felt they still had time before the vote in November. If this is passed it will not take affect for two more years, as the current superintendent has two more Town of Virgil Regular Meeting 07/09/2015 8 years in his term. Member Taylor asked if the board wanted to wait until the next election. Community Member Dan Klessig asked why wait, he said people are concerned about the fuel accountability. He said he can’t understand why the board didn’t want to move ahead with the referendum. Kaminski said he is a firm believer in the election process and letting the people decide who serves in these positions. Kaminski said he would like to keep it the way it is. Taylor said that the current superintendent didn’t come to the last meeting. Klessig said there are concerns that the audit brought out. Kaminski said that he hears the concerns, but that he didn’t want to take away the choice from the people. Taylor said there are concerns with the process now, because a 21 year old kid could get all his buddies to come to the caucus and can get elected. Snyder said that they would have to make a motion to adopt a local law to get the ball rolling. RESOLUTION #15-090 PROPOSING LOCAL LAW NO. 1 OF 2015: Member Taylor made a motion to propose that Attorney Snyder draws up a proposed local law that would “Abolish the position of Town Highway Superintendent and crate an Appointed Town Highway Superintendent position; subject to a Mandatory Referendum.” The motion was seconded by Member Snow. Vote: Ayes-Members Taylor, Snow, Stiles and Denniston. Nays-Kaminski. Discussion continued, Community Member Judith Hope-Klessig asked Supervisor Kaminski if he was liable for the $22,000 in missing fuel. Kaminski said the auditor didn’t say so. Klessig said as the Town Supervisor and Chief fiscal officer he is liable. Kaminski said there was no documentation as to where the fuel went, it was poor record keeping. Taylor said that the Highway Superintendent blamed it on a break in the calendar. With no further business to discuss Member Stiles made a motion to adjourn at 10:55 p.m. The motion was seconded by Member Taylor. Respectfully Submitted by, Alane Van Donsel, Virgil Town Clerk