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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-12-2015 Town Board Meeting Minutes -ApprovedVirgil Town Board Meeting November 12th, 2015 1 | P a g e TOWN OF VIRGIL REGULAR MEETING November 12TH 2015 PRESENT: Supervisor John Kaminski, Board Members Dale Taylor, Eric Snow, Jereme Stiles and Matthew Denniston, Town Clerk Alane Van Donsel, John Morse Highway Superintendent, Craig Umbehauer Code and Zoning Enforcer (did not sign attendance sheet), Dereck & Jenae Withey W20perators, David Coish Yaws Environmental, John Morse Highway Superintendent, Rick Horner Asst. Highway Superintendent, Demont Lang Highway Department, Wes Kryger Greek Peak, Al Kryger Greek Peak Home Owners Association, Sandra Price Cortland County Legislator, Lee Price, Gary and Teri Pelton, Stacey Kelsey ( did not sign attendance sheet.) 7:00 PM –TOWN HALL MEETING: 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# 15-126 APPROVAL OF MINUTES Draft of Board Regular Meeting Minutes dated Oct. 08th, 2015: Member Taylor moved to approve the minutes for Oct. 08th 2015 with a correction on the discussion of lot sizes. Member Taylor would like the minutes to state that he isn’t wondering if the zoning law needs to be changed, but that the zoning law does need to be changed. Member Snow noted that the minutes need to reflect Wes Kryger, as opposed to Al in the Hope Lake operations report. The motion was seconded by Member Snow. Vote: Ayes-Members Taylor, Snow, Denniston, Stiles and Kaminski. Nays-None. Draft of the Town Board Public Hearing Minutes dated Nov. 05th, 2015: Member Denniston moved to accept the minutes from the Town Boards Public Hearing held for the 2016 Town Budget. The motion was seconded by member Snow. Vote: Ayes- Members Taylor, Snow, Stiles, Denniston and Kaminski. Nays- None RESOLUTION# 15-127 AUTHORIZATION TO PAY BILLS GENERAL FUND: Member Taylor moved to approve payment of the General Fund’s audited vouchers numbered 247-281 in the amount of $21,409.36 adding $289.50 for the Transfer Station attendants clothing allowance. The motion was seconded by Member Snow. Vote: Ayes-Members Taylor, Snow, Denniston, Stiles and Kaminski. Nays- None. HIGHWAY FUND: Member Denniston moved to approve payment of the Highway Fund audited vouchers numbered 1154-1186 in the amount of $57,548.89, removing $289.50 which is to be paid out of the general fund no t the Highway fund for transfer station clothing allowance. The motion was seconded by Member Stiles. Vote: Ayes-Members Taylor, Snow, Denniston, Stiles and Kaminski. Nays- None SEWER DISTRICT #1: Member Denniston moved to approve payment of the Sewer District #1 audited voucher’s numbered 2102- 2115 in the amount of $11,645.91. The motion was seconded by Member Taylor. Vote: Ayes-Members Taylor, Snow, Denniston, Stiles and Kaminski. Nays- None WATER DISTRICT #1: Member Taylor moved to approve payment of the Water District #1 audited vouchers 3057-3064 in the amount of $8500.63 adding in a bill for $3,324.52 Voucher #3065, plus reducing $476.11 for an over charge from W2Operators for water sampling fees. Member Stiles seconded the motion. Vote: Ayes-Members Taylor, Snow, Denniston, Stiles and Kaminski. Nays- None MONTHLY REPORTS SUPERVISOR’S MONTHLY REPORT: Member Stiles moved to accept the Supervisor’s Monthly Report in long form for October 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 Clerks Monthly Report for October 2015. The motion was seconded by Member Snow . Vote: Ayes-Members Taylor, Snow, Denniston, Stiles and Kaminski. Nays- None SEWER DISTRICT OPERATIONS REPORT: David Coish of Yaws Environmental reported that everything was running well. Member Taylor was concerned because the board did not receive a paper copy of the repo rt. Town Clerk Van Donsel apologized, as she was in the process of switching over to a new program that would allow the board to receive paperless reports and forgot to print both the water and sewer reports for the board. Member Denniston moved to accept the Sewer Districts Report. The motion was seconded by member Stiles . Vote: Ayes-Members Taylor, Snow, Denniston, Stiles and Kaminski. Nays- None WATER DISTRICT OPERATIONS REPORT: Member Taylor questioned why the contract fee had two charges on it for water sampling fees. Taylor said that he never saw that before. Jenae Withey said that she didn’t realize that he town pays Microbac direct ly for water sampling, so that amount should be taken off the bill. The bill for W2Operators should be reduced by $1 81.13 and $294.98 in the total reduction of $476.11. Derek Withey said that W2Opera tors will send an amended bill in the amount of $3,166.74. This also needs reflect on the Water District #1 bills. Member Taylor motioned to accept the Water report from W2Operator’s. The motion was seconded by Member Stiles. Vote: Ayes-Members Taylor, Snow, Denniston, Stiles and Kaminski. Nays-None ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICER’S REPORT: A motion was made by Member Denniston to accept the Animal Control Officers report submitted this month by Country Acres. The motion was seconded by Member Stiles. Member Taylor questioned why the Town was paying $106.32 for the medical expenses of a stray dog. Taylor didn’t feel this was prudent. He felt it would be better to euthani ze Virgil Town Board Meeting November 12th, 2015 2 | P a g e the dogs than to pay medical bills for a dog that the owners don’t want. Vote: Ayes-Members Snow, Denniston, Stiles and Kaminski. Nays: Taylor CODE ENFORCEMENT AND ZONING OFFICERS REPORT: A written report was submitted by Code and Zoning Officer Craig Umbehauer. Member Taylor motioned to accept the Code and Zoning Officers report. The motion was seconded Member Snow. Vote: Ayes-Members Taylor, Snow, Denniston, Stiles and Kaminski. Nays- None COUNTY LEGISLATOR’S REPORT: A written report was submitted by County Legislator Sandy Price. Price was also present at the meeting and she apologized for the late report as she was having Internet issues. She reported that the solid waste committee approved ash for cover. She said that it will be going to legislature next Thursday. The contract will be for 5 years, but it can be canceled with 90 days notice by either party. Supervisor Kaminski asked if this plan falls through and landfill closes what will happen. Price said this is not ash for trash. She said that the DEC approved this. Attorney Snyder said he doesn’t think DEC would allow if wasn’t safe. DEC says that it is better for the environment than what’s going in there now. Price said that the Budget and Finance voted to re-appoint Peggy Mousaw as the Director. Price wanted to know if there were any questions or anything that she should be doing. Supervisor Kaminski thanked Price for coming and he said it was good to see her. He said she was looking good and Pric e said she was feeling good. Price thanked everyone for their time and wished everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Member Stiles motioned to accept the County Legislators report. The motion was seconded by Member Snow. Vote: Ayes-Members Taylor, Snow, Denniston, Stiles and Kaminski. Nays- None. VIRGIL YOUTH COMMISSION REPORT: Supervisor Kaminski asked Sandy Price to stay for the Youth Commission report. Kaminski said that he wanted Price to know that the board is trying to regenerate the Youth Commission. He wanted her to know that she is still on the Youth Commission. He appointed a few new people, but he wanted to make sure Price knew she was still a part of it. Kaminski said that the board wanted to make sure that the Before & Afterschool program continues. He said it is a valuable service to the community. Kaminski said that he is overseeing it right now and that he met with Eddie Eaton. Kaminski said he was concerned that the program was not certified. Price said that the program is run as children’s activities and they have been checked several times and nothing has been found wrong. Price said that if they were going to go the certification route, the Before and After School Program couldn’t afford to continue. Price said that Linda Hall would like to go ahead with the summer program. Price said it will be housed at the church again. Price stated that it is actually a better space, because when they are at the school they are moved around a lot. Kaminski said that Eaton is in TX and that she is going to have monthly reports fro m now on. Price said that she would like to report that a Cub Scouts troop has been rejuvenated in Virgil. She said 14 youth have signed up to bring back pack 102. Many young boys, who are now men, were members of Cub Scout Troop 102 for many years. She s aid it’s a very good organization that builds character. There was some further discussion with Teri Pelton regarding the building that now holds the Youth Commission items. They researched who actually owns the building. Pelton said she discovered that the town bought it from the Bays family years ago. Kaminski said that Youth Commission members need to go into the building and inventory the contents. Pelton said that they are planning a meeting with Eaton when she gets back from Texas. Treasurer Stacey Kelsey apologized for not getting her financial report in on time and she handed it into the Town Clerk, who will distribute it to the Town board. She said next month she will get it in on time. Member Taylor motioned to accept the Virgil Youth Commission report. The motion was seconded by Member Denniston. Vote: Ayes-Members Taylor, Snow, Denniston, Stiles and Kaminski. Nays- None. HOPE LAKE OPERATIONS REPORT: Wes Kryger was present and said there were no updates. HIGHWAY SUPERINTENDENTS REPORT: Highway Superintendent John Morse was present and submitted a written report. There was some discussion regarding the end of Kyriotis Drive. Member Taylor was concerned that it was going to turn in to mush. Taylor said that the town tore it up. Taylor said he can’t believe that other people haven’t complained about it. Morse said he hasn’t heard from anyone. Taylor said years ago the Highway Dept said they can put it in and it’s never been right. He says it always has pot holes. Morse said he has heard from some people from Greek Peak. Morse said it’s a drainage problem, the water goes there. Taylor said that this winter it’s going to be bad. Morse said it has to do with what’s underneath the road. Rick Horner said that after the lines were put in, it hasn’t been good. Morse said that a foot of black top might fix the problem. It was stated that engineers ran the whole project. Morse said it will cost about $15,000 to fix. The conversation shifted to a town truck that was damaged. Morse said that he plans on straightening the bumper, but leaving the rest the same. Morse wondered if the town should contact the insur ance company and reconsider paying for collision. He said perhaps the town can put the money in an account and save what is being paid on collision. He said right now it will cost $3,000 to fix. Member Stiles said that is not a good plan, because if a truck is totaled, then you have to pay out of pocket. Kaminski said he wants to look into submitting a claim. He is wondering if rates would go up. Morse said he’s going to pay out of pocket in the spring. There was further discussion regarding the 1994 International truck. Kaminski said the 1994 International brought in less money than before only bringing in $4,050.00, which is about $2000.00 less than last time. Morse said that is common. He said that in the spring everyone wants a dump truck. Kaminski asked what the board’s pleasure was. Should they Keep it in the fleet and let the Highway Department use it. Member Snow said it’s such a low price, he felt it would be better to keep it. Taylor asked how much it will cost to repair the truck? The board agreed to allow the truck to go back into the fleet as long as it doesn’t cost too much to repair and maintain. There was further discussion regarding the tractor from the land fill. It has broken down. Morse said it is fixed now. He said they are putting new U bolts in it. It’s currently at LD truck repair. They said that If Gorge had run it, it would have been ruined. Morse said the flange broke the gear. It broke down at the landfill. Member Taylor motioned to accept the Highway Supervisor report. The motion was seconded by Member Denniston. Vote: Ayes-Members Taylor, Snow, Denniston, Stiles and Kaminski. Nays- None. Virgil Town Board Meeting November 12th, 2015 3 | P a g e OLD BUSINESS APPOINT A MEMBER TO THE HEALTH CARE CONSORTIUM: Supervisor Kaminski asked Member Snow if he would be willing to serve on the Health Care Consortium Board. He said that they meet three or four times a year. Snow agreed to serve on the board. ADDED DUTIES TO HIGHWAY SUPERINTENDENT: Morse said that he looked the document over and it’s not going to change what he already does now. Kaminski said that some of it is in his job description. Kaminski said he would like to have the board provided with a fuel dispensing report. Morse talked about fuel accountability and said that he wants to install cameras at the highway garage because the only discrepancy is from the Fire Department. Morse also said that he does not submit a detailed pl an every year of what roads he will working on because he bases it on the weather and how much money he has to work with. This is according to Highway Law 284. He said in spring he sees where the town stands. He may have enough money to oil and stone 8 to 12 miles of road, but it depends on the cost of oil and stone and condition of the roads. Kaminski said that he would like to see the Superintendent give a report at each board meeting and if he can’t be there, he would like to see one of his men do the r eport. Kaminski was concerned with insurance claims, due to an accident that happened with a town truck. Kaminski said only the town board can put in an insurance claim. Kaminski said the board would like to see job descriptions of all the employees. Morse said he does have job descriptions and that the board can see his books at the end of the year, but he is not going to give the daily log that he keeps at home to the board, as they are his records. Attorney Snyder said that it seems like these records wo uld be useful to the board and it seems like it they would be subject to being F.O.I.L.ed. Kaminski asked Morse where the Town’s cell phone was. Morse said it was out in his truck. Kaminski asked what if there was an emergency. Morse said that Rick Horner has his cell phone. Kaminski said he doesn’t have Horner’s cell phone number. Horner said all Kaminski had to do was ask for it. Horner said that at one time the town gave the highway three cell phones. Horner said that his stopped working and he was ne ver given another one. Morse said that the report talks about his calling people back. Morse said that he only missed maybe 4 or 5 message over the years. Taylor asked if it was because of the carrier that he wasn’t getting the messages. Morse said that he can name three board members that didn’t call me back. Kaminski asked what the board wants to do with this document. Member Denniston asked if there were any points of contention on the document. Morse said that the books are his and he was unwilling to share them. Kaminski said he would like to see Morse’s town truck with a placard on it. Morse said he was willing to do that, but it will be up to him where it goes. Kaminski said the board has the right to surplus the vehi cle for 3 to four weeks and have it placard. Morse said that all they had to do was ask. Morse said that he will have the truck placard by January 1st, if Kaminski promises to stop trying to be his boss. Kaminski thanked Morse for his cooperation. NEW BUSINESS RESIGNATION FROM THE ZONING BOARD: Kaminski said that he plans on asking Jeff Hall the alternate to this board if he wishes to serve as a full time member. Town Clerk Van Donsel said that she spoke to him and he said he would be willing to do so. Kaminski then said they will be looking for an alternate for this board. RESOLUTION #15-128 APPOINT JEFF HALL AS A FULL TIME MEMBER OF TO THE ZBA: Member Stiles motioned to Appoint Jeff Hall ZBA alternate as a full time member of the Zoning board of Appeals. The motion was seconded by Member Denniston. Vote: Ayes- Members Taylor, Snow, Denniston, Stiles and Kaminski. Nays- None. RESOLUTION #15-129 POST THE OPENING ON THE BOARD OF ASSESSMENT REVIEW AS WELL AS THE ALTERNATE POSTION OPENING ON THE ZBA: Member Stiles motioned to approve posting the opening on the board of assessment review as well as the alternate position on the ZBA. The motion was seconded by Member Denniston. Vote: Ayes-Members Taylor, Snow, Denniston, Stiles and Kaminski. Nays- None. DISCUSS ASSESSOR PLAN: There was some question as to whether or not the Randy Deal had turned in his letter of resignation? Attorney Snyder said that he had not. Member Denniston asked if the board could start the process as soon as he turns it in. It was stated yes. Deal is planning on working through June. PURCHASE TRACTOR FOR THE HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT: Supervisor Kaminski said that at budget we talked about purchasing a tractor. Morse said that the John Deer was not as big as they need. Morse said the other one that they were looking at was bigger and the loader was heavier. He said the flow rate will handle what they need. Morse said he will disagree on resale value. The 8 foot sweeper requires 14-15 gallons minute. Morse said a John Deer tractor of the same size would cost ten thousand more then the Massey Furguson. Member Snow asked if they are talking about purchasing a new or used tractor. Morse said that the used Massey Ferguson was gone. So we’d have to buy a new one. Kaminski asked if the new Massey Ferguson was on state bid. Kaminski asked if there was a motion to go out bid. Denniston asked if they want to specify a brand. Taylor asked if this tractor will be only used in the garage. Morse said that it’s not going to get a lot of road time, but it will get some. Morse said that this tractor will last this town minimum of 20 years. Denniston wanted to know what else it will be used for. Morse said for brush cutting and tree cutting and it will save man hours. We have three tractors now. This tractor will do all three jobs. Member Stiles made a Motion to go out to bid for a new tractor based on detailed specs. Member Snow seconded the motion. Vote: Ayes-Members Taylor, Snow, Denniston, Stiles and Kaminski. Nays- None. RESOLUTION 15-130 ADOPTION OF THE 2016 TOWN BUDGET: The town board having gone through the budget process and keeping the tax rate the same as last year, a Motion was made by Member Stiles to approve the 2016 town budget. The motion was seconded by Member Snow. Member Taylor made the comment that the board is voting a an over 2 million dollar budget and only Virgil Town Board Meeting November 12th, 2015 4 | P a g e two people showed up t o the budget hearing and that one was a newly elected board member. Taylor stated that he felt that people simply do not care. Vote: Ayes-Members Taylor, Snow, Stiles, Denniston and Kaminski. Nay-None. EXECTIVE SESSION: In Accordance with Public Officers law section Article 7, Section 103, Supervisor John Kaminski called for an Executive Session at 8:40 PM to discuss litigation on a pending case involving tax assessments for Greek Peak. A motion was made by Member Stiles, seconded by Member Snow. Vote: Ayes-Members Taylor, Snow, Stiles, Denniston and Kaminski. Nay-None. RECIND EXECUTIVE SESSION VOTE: Greek Peak Home Owner Association representative Al Kryger said he wanted to discuss the Greek Peak lighting district with the board. So the board then decided to rescind to go into executive session. Al Kryger wanted to address the board regarding the Greek Peak street lighting district. Al Kryger provided the board with copies of a letter from Greek Peak Home Owners Association requesting to buy fixtures from national grid, but they would not sell them. Kryger said that the HOA is supposed to pay for just the fixtures on the bill to the town. Kryger is asking the board to consider that the town pays the lighting bill. Kryger said that this is a Common lighting district. We have lights on during the day. Kryger said there were some lamps out. Kaminski said that the Town Clerk will call that in tomorrow. Kryger asked why the HOA should be paying for the use of electricity. He understands the fixture charge. Kaminski said that we couldn’t find anything in the minutes that the town would pay for the lighting costs and that the HOA would pay the Fixture charge. EXECTIVE SESSION: In Accordance with Public Officers law section Article 7, Section 103, Supervisor John Kaminski called for an Executive Session at 8:55 PM to discuss the legal litigations. A motion was made by Member Stiles, seconded by Member Denniston. Vote: Ayes-Members Taylor, Snow, Stiles, Denniston and Kaminski. Nay -None. Executive Session was adjourned at 9:05 PM. Moved by Member Stiles , Seconded by Member Stiles. Vote: Ayes-Members Taylor, Snow, Stiles, Denniston and Kaminski. Nay-None. With no further business to discuss, Member Stiles moved to adjourn the meeting at 9:07 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