Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout1996-02-13 - TB ra 2U TOWN OF ULYSSES REGULAR TOWN BOARD MEETING February 13 , 1996 Present : Supervisor Doug Austic ; Councilpeople Catherine Stover , Carolyn Duddleston , Robert Weatherby , Peter Penniman ; Code Enforcement Officer Alex Rachun ; Highway S uperintendent James Meeker . Others Present : Mark Vann , Peter Meskill , Tom Reitz , Free Press reporter Grace Wolf , NYS Police Capt . Foley , Janet H awks . Mr . Austic called the Regular Meeting of the Ulysses Town Board to order at 7 : 30pm and led those in attendance in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America . H aving just had a Public Hearing prior to this meeting regarding Local Law # 1 ; and hearing no public comment , Mr . Austic entertained a motion , moved by Mrs . Duddleston , seconded by Mrs . S tover the following : BE IT ENACTED BY THE TOWN BOARD OF THE TOWN OF ULYSSES AS FOLLOWS : Section # 1 . PURPOSE : The purpose of this law is to amend Local Law No . 1 for 1979 relative to dog license fees to be charged by the Town of Ulysses . S ection # 2 . Section 10 of Local Law No . 1 for 1979 is hereby amended to read as follows : S ection 10 . License and Impoundment fees . For licenses issued on or after the effective date of this law , the following fees shall be charged : a local fee of $ 8 . 00 shall be charged to each spayed or neutered dog and unspayed or unneutered dog ; local additional charge of $ 10 . 00 for each dog impounded pursuant to this law . S ection # 12 . EFFECTIVE DATE : This law shall take effect immediately upon its filing with the Secretary of S tate . Mr . Austic Aye Mr . Weatherby Aye Mrs . Stover Aye Mrs . Duddleston Aye Mr . Penniman Aye Adopted . MINUTES Mrs . Duddleston moved , seconded by Mrs . Stover to approve minutes of the Regular Town Board Meeting of January 9 , 1996 . Unanimously approved . CLAIMS Mr . Austic moved , seconded by Mr . Weatherby to approve Claims # 9 - 68 , excluding # 32 , for a total of $ 44 , 563 . 97 . Unanimously approved . NYS POLICE CAPT . FOLEY Explained what the State Police do and that they are available . Has twenty troopers and four investigators in Tompkins County . If there is a problem they are not addressing in the Town , they want to know . TRUMANSBURG FIRE DEPARTMENT 2 Mark Vann reported activity of the Fire Dept . for the month . REPORTS H ighway Superintendent : Jim Meeker reported salting and plowing as needed . High water damage on the 19th . . Cold Springs and Boyd H ill received most damage . Filling in washed out areas . Rebidding on the Salt 1st of February , everyone is over their allocation for the year ; will be charging $ 4 . more per ton and t akes 7 - 10 days to get it . Has submitted estimated damage costs of about $ 15 , 000 due to flooding . Since Tompkins County was declared a disaster area will end up getting about 75 % back . S howed pictures of flooding that Marsha took for him . Mrs . Stover moved , seconded by Mrs . Duddleston the following resolution : WHEREAS : General Municipal Law Section 119 - 0 provides for municipalities entering into cooperative purchasing agreements to jointly bid needed services , and WHEREAS : General Municipal Law , Article 5 - G , Section 119 - 0 states that " any agreement entered into hereunder shall be approved by each participating municipal corporation or district by a majority vote of its governing body , " now therefore be it RESOLVED : that the Town of Ulysses be hereby authorized to participate with Tompkins County in the cooperative purchasing of the following highway services ; Guiderail Vegetation Control B ituminous Material P lant Mix Bituminous Concrete Bridge Repairs S ubsurface Drainage Mr . Austic Aye Mrs . Stover Aye Mr . Weatherby Aye Mrs . Duddleston Aye Mr . Penniman Aye Adopted . Code Enforcement Officer : Alex Rachun reported no permits in January , three starts in February . State Inspector for DSS has raised concerns regarding non - conformance of the area of the building housing the Trumansburg Head Start program . Alex , along with Bill Stewart , State Code Enforcement Inspector has looked over the situation and feels it is fine for a pre- school situation . Suggested getting a State variance . People in charge of Head Start do not seem interested in getting a variance and have concerns about possible liability after this latest DSS inspection . Alex will continue looking into the situation . Town Clerk : Marsha Georgia reported $ 1440 . 78 for the month of January , of which $ 1219 . 73 was turned over to the Supervisor . Taxes to date : $ 1 , 111 , 787 . 00 has been collected ; the Town warrant has been paid and $ 650 , 000 . 00 has been paid to TC Budget / Finance . Also $ 2 , 889 . 00 paid to the County for service charges on the installment payments . $ 147 . 00 given to the Supervisor , which represents $ 1 . per number of installment options and penalty from 1 / 15 - 1 / 20 on installments was $ 747 . which was also turned over to the Supervisor . Have given a copy of the bill received from the County to cover the printing of the tax bills . Am recommending the Board pass a resolution not to pay this bill ; the bills were printed incorrectly , no return addresses ; have \ at Town of Ulysses 3 Regular Board Meeting 2 - 13 - 96 suggested to other Town Clerks they do the same . The Board agreed the bill should not be paid . Mr . Austic felt no need for a formal resolution , he will write a letter . Board Members : Mrs . Duddleston said the plans for the Town Hall are almost ready . Would like to meet Thursday , February 22 & 29 at 7 : 00pm . Mr . Reitz said he would like to attend the meeting . Supervisor ' s Report : Mr . Austic reviewed . OLD BUSINESS Master Plan Committee : Mr . Austic said there was a Special Board Meeting last Saturday to discuss the Master Plan Committee ' s report . We all agreed that the written narrative was pretty good , aside from a few places that might need changing . Need to have a joint meeting to discuss their map proposal , which the Board has a problem with . Mr . Rachun suggested inviting Bruce Wilson , Attorney , to give a short overview of what the legal ramifications are once they put that map into place . Will try to meet Saturday , February 24th at 8 : 30am . NYS Association of Towns Resolutions : Don ' t seem to have a complete set of the resolutions . Will call the Association of Towns in the morning and ask them to fax resolutions to us . Board Memo to Village of Trumansburg : Mr . Austic will hand deliver letter . 1 REP . PETER MESK.ILL Asking the State to grant Home Rule to give the County the ability to install solid waste fees on the tax bills for 1997 . Flood damage in the County was discussed . This end of Tompkins was very light compared to other areas . No dollar estimate has been established as yet . There will be a meeting in March regarding 911 . Other Old Business : Mr . Austic received a letter of interest from Janet Hawks voicing her interest in the TC Environmental Management Committee . Mr . Penniman said Janet is very qualified and recommends her for this position . Mr . Penniman moved , seconded by Mr . Weatherby to nominate Janet Hawks to Tompkins County Board of Representatives as the Town of Ulysses representative to the TC Environmental Management Committee . Mr . Austic Aye Mrs . Stover Aye Mr . Weatherby Aye Mrs . Duddleston Aye Mr . Penniman Aye Adopted . Will advertise in Job Wanted section of the Free Press and the Ithaca Journal for two positions needed ; a member of the Planning Board and a member for the Zoning Board of Appeals . Will ask for letters of interest to be submitted prior to the March Town Board Meeting . Received a letter of interest from Debra Austic to serve as the Town representative on the Joint Youth Commission . Moved by Mrs . Stover , seconded by Mr . Weatherby to appoint Debra Austic to the Joint Youth Commission . <)ThSD Town of Ulysses 4 Regular Board Meeting 2 - 13 - 96 Mr . Austic Abstained Mrs . Stover Aye Mr . Weatherby Aye Mrs . Duddleston Aye Mr . Penniman Aye Adopted . Mr . Austic indicated that he will review all other positions to see if there are other vacancies . NEW BUSINESS Economic Development Ideas : Mr . Penniman has proposed a formation of a new citizen advisory committee . The purposes of this committee would be as follows : 1 . To provide public input into board decisions regarding the types and extent of commercial and industrial development that would be most desirable for the economic health of our Town . 2 . To provide expertise in specific areas related to economic development , such as : * Legal issues related to zoning and infrastructure development * Analysis of likely costs and benefits related to economic development * Identification of businesses that would be viable in our Town , and * After desirable types of businesses are identified , assistance with marketing our Town as a potential business location . 3 . To guide the board in determining what areas of the Town are best suited to commercial development . Peter stated that the committee be composed of at least five people who are qualified to achieve the above goals . He would encourage any Town Board , Village Board or Planning Board members to participate as well . He has already spoken with several citizens who are willing to assist , including a land use attorney , an economics professor , and a local banker . He would welcome any suggestions for others who may be interested . He feels the role of this advisory committee to address the complete range of legal , social and environmental issues related to commercial development . The focus would be restricted to economic development issues . It is his intention for this new advisory committee to preempt the work of the Master Plan Committee or the Planning Board . Rather , he believes it will provide added information to complement their work . Moreover , members of those committees would be invited to participate . Supervisor Austic stated that he feels that it is a way to get businesses and people interested . To encourage what we want to do and how we can encourage what we want to happen , to happen . The Board felt we should go forward . Mr . Penniman stated that not all types of economic development are necessarily beneficial to the Town and its residents . For example , residential development tends to increase the burden on our schools , public safety and other services . Deciding what is best for the taxpayers of the Town is a complex process . It is important that we have the best advice available . Doug stated that someone had suggested to hire someone and he feels that he does not want to get into that . If it is to be done it should be Town ' s people who are willing to come in and \ a6 Town of Ulysses 5 Regular Board Meeting 2 - 13 - 96 spent some time , figure out what we should be doing , where it should be going . How to find these people he has no idea . May be talk to the Chamber of Commerce was suggested . A letter to the editor was suggested . Mr . Weatherby stated that he did not want to see another survey . ! We ' ve done that . i Supervisor Austic stated that they will think it out and decide better what they want to do . CLERK ' S OFFICE DISCUSSION : Mr . Austic stated that the clerk ' s desk in her office clasped and he would be willing to build a counter top that would fit over filing cabinets . ( Would be the least expensive . ) He would have the Town buy the materials and he would donate his time to build it . The Board felt that would be fine . BUILDING REMODELING / ADDITION PLAN DISCUSSION : Previously discussed that the building committee will meet with Peter Demjanec on February 22 to review plans . NYS RETIREMENT : Mr . Austic reviewed the process for paying the NYS Retirement payments . The Board felt that we should continued making payments as we have in the past . SPCA CONTRACT : Mr . Austic has signed the contract and returned to them . MUNICIPAL OFFICIALS MEETING : Mr . Austic announced that there will be a meeting at the Leigh Valley on February 29th at 7 : 00 pm for anyone interested . OTHER NEW BUSINESS : Mr . Curtis , Chairman of the Tompkins County Intermunicipal Cable Commission has presented a resolution requesting the Commission to negotiate on the municipality ' s behalf , but reserving to the municipality the rights to modify and approve its own final agreement . Mr . Curtis urges the Board to adopt the resolution even though the Ulysses franchise is not up for renewal for another four years . Mr . Weatherby moved , seconded by Mrs . Stover the following resolution : WHEREAS , the Town of Ulysses is provided cable service by Time Warner Cable ; and WHEREAS , the Town of Ulysses recognizes the advantage of cooperation with other municipalities with regard to cable franchise issues ; and WHEREAS , the Tompkins County Intermunicipal Cable Television Commission has been formed pursuant to Article 5 -G of the New York General Municipal Law for the purpose of advising municipalities on matters pertaining to cable television franchising and service , and holding public hearings when and where appropriate , all in order to promote the provisions of good cable television service at reasonable rates to the residents of Tompkins County ; and WHEREAS , the Town of Ulysses is a member of the Tompkins County Intermunicipal Cable Television Commission ; NOW THEREFORE , it is : RESOLVED that the Town of Ulysses does hereby authorize the Tompkins County Intermunicipal Cable Television Commission to negc?tato with Time Warner Cable the renewal of the Town of \Td-% Town of Ulysses 6 Regular Board Meeting 2 - 13 - 96 Ulysses ' s cable franchise , including conducting such public hearings as the Commission deems appropriate , RESERVING however to the Town. of Ulysses the ultimate approval , disapproval or amendment of the franchise agreement so negotiated ; and it is further RESOLVED that the Commission is hereby authorized to obtain from Time Warner on behalf of the Town of Ulysses such information as the Commission deems appropriate , and this resolution shall be deemed the specific instruction and direction of the Town of Ulysses to Time Warner to provide such information as the Commission , as agent of the Town of Ulysses , may request . Mr . Austic aye Mrs . Stover aye Mrs . Duddleston aye Mr . Penniman aye Mr . Weatherby aye Adopted PUBLIC COMMENTS none Hearing no further business , Mr . Weatherby moved , seconded by Mr . Stover to adjourn the meeting . Hearing no objection the Board unanimously approved adjournment . Meeting adjourned 10 : 20PM . Respectfully submitted , Marsha L . Georgia Ulysses Town Clerk MLG : mg