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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1999-01-12 - TB TOWN OF ULYSSES REGULAR TOWN BOARD MEETING JANUARY 12w, 1999 PRESENT: Supervisor Douglas Austic; Councilpeople Carolyn Duddleston, Andrew Hillman and Robert Weatherby; Highway Superintendent James Meeker; Code Enforcement Officer Alex Rachun ; Town Clerk Marsha L. Georgia . Others Present : County Representative Peter Penniman , Susan Madar, Free Press Reporter Ann Brewer, Ithaca Journal Reporter Lauren Bishop, Ann Stover, Mark Croft, Rodney Porter, Jules Burgevin , Scott Sears . Supervisor Austic Called the meeting to order at 7 : 30 PM and lead those assembled in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America . APPROVAL OF MINUTES Mr. Austic entertained a motion to approve the minutes of the December 8th, 1998 Regular Town Board Meeting and the Joint Enfield / Ulysses Meeting of December 22nd, 1998 . Mrs . Duddleston moved seconded by Mr. Weatherby . Mr. Austic asked if there were any corrections and/or discussion . Mrs . Duddleston pointed out several errors in the December 8th meeting . Page 3 under clerk's report should read "getting ready for the open house" and under Councilman Peter Penniman 's report should read " Peter will leave report for anyone to look at". On page 4 under Comprehensive Plan it should read may be instead of maybe . On the last page under adjournment it should be Mr. Hillman and not Mr. Andrew . In the minutes of December 22nd, second page it should read " nominated for appointment and not appointed . Hearing no other corrections the Board unanimously approved the minutes . APPROVAL OF MONTHLY CLAIMS Mr . Austic entertained a motion , moved by Mr. Hillman seconded by Mrs . Duddleston to approve the previously examined claims for 1998, #478 through 510, excluding #481 in the amount of $ 24, 635 . 61 . Unanimously approved . Mr. Austic entertained a motion for claims # 1 through 16 for 1999, in the amount of $ 10,433 . 19 that were previously examined by the Board . Mrs . Duddleston moved seconded by Mr . Weatherby . Unanimously approved . REPORTS OF REPRESENTATIVES County Representative Peter Penniman reported that not much has happened yet at the County level . He has been assigned to a lot of committees . He has a meeting with every member of the County Board at least once a month . He has been appointed to the Budget Committee, Government Operations Committee, Economic and Workforce Development Committee, which are standing committees . Than the special committees appointed to are Information Management, Public Information and Library Coordination . The Library Coordination has to do with better coordinating all the libraries in the County and talking about different ways of funding the rural libraries . He is hoping to increase funding for Ulysses Library . Mr . Penniman states that if anyone has any County issues, please feel free to talk to him . He will be attending the Town Board meetings on a regular basis . I. 4 Town of Ulysses 2 Regular Board Meeting 1/12/99 Trumansburgi Fire Department No one in attendance from the Trumansburg Fire Department . Cavuga Lake Defense Mark Croft of the Cayuga Lake Defense Fund stated they are an organization that is committed to the preservation of Cayuga Lake . Currently they are involved in opposition to the Cornell Lake Source Cooling Project. What this basically is a project where by Cornell University plans to use cold water from 250' deep into the lake, run it through a heat exchange facility on East Shore Drive and use the chilled water for their air conditioning on campus . The opinion of the Cayuga Lake Defense Fund is that this will worsen the water quality in Cayuga Lake overall and especially sensitive areas at the south end of the lake that is already fairly bad shape . There are two facts that he wants to bring to the attention of the Ulysses Board . First of all a little publicized fact is that the intake pipe of this lake source project will be within the boundaries of the Town of Ulysses . He has consulted several different types of maps and all maps show this . The intake pipe will be located a short distance south of Glenwood Point on this side of the lake . It will be a sixty- inch diameter pipe by five feet and it would intake 46 million gallons of water per day. This will not only have a negative effect on the fishery and the ecology of this area it will also have effect on the boating and the residents along the lake . To get the depth of 250' and get the cold water they need they have to run the pipe nearly two miles . The fact that the intake is within the Town of Ulysses leads him to his second point. In order for Cornell to get the permits involved with this project they had to compile an Environmental Impact Statement . This is a very detailed ; four- volume statement that includes everything that will be effected, even remotely, by this project . There is a sub-section of this EIS that is entitled " involved agency distribution list". There are several pages that are included in the EIS wherein everyone who is involved or needs to get a copy of the EIS or notification of any of the permits and a list of organizations or people who were notified . In absence from that list is the Town of Ulysses . In passing the Town of Lansing is on that list, though the Town of Lansing is not directly involved in this . The Town of Ithaca and Cayuga Heights are listed as well . He believes that in this omission Cornell has violated the law . It seems to him that the Town of Ulysses definitely is an involved party to this situation and should have been notified and made aware that this pipe is going to be in the area defined . Mr. Croft went on to state he and the members of the Cayuga Defense Fund are ready to assist and answer any questions anyone may has regarding the technical details . They have access to a wide range of research and information on this topic should anyone wish to investigate any further. This is the information he wanted to make the Town aware of. Mr . Croft left maps to indicate what he was talking about. He thanked the Board for letting him speak. Mr. Croft answered a few other questions . TOWN REPORTS Hic} hway Superintendent James Meeker reported they have been working on cleaning ditches on Terrell Road , installed some field access pipe for the tree farm, cutting brush and mowing back roadsides . They had the help of the Town of Ithaca 's bulldozer and dump truck and cleaned ditches between Waterburg Road and Brook Road . This year they got to have Christmas off due to no snow . Snow came December 28th and they have been plowing and salting ever since . Code Enforcement Officer Alex Rachun reported that there were no building permits issued for the month of December. He did have one BZA for a height Fi. Town of Ulysses 3 1R') Regular Board Meeting 1 / 12/99 easement on an accessory building . The Master Plan Committee has been working diligently on getting the revised Comprehensive Plan in the final draft form . The map has been updated and is at the Tompkins County Planning Department being re-printed . Hopefully all this will be finished this coming Wednesday . Mr. Rachun feels the Town Board can be thinking seriously about setting a date for their public hearing . Mr. Rachun states the moratorium on commercial is up in June . So the sooner the Comprehensive Plans gets finalized the sooner zoning can be worked on . The Board discussed setting a date for a hearing but because there is a possibility it will not be done by Wednesday they decided to have the Supervisor set the date when he found out and let them know . Town Clerk Marsha L. Georgia reported that for the month of December a total of $743 was collected and $420 . 50 was turned over to the Supervisor along with the monthly report. The annual report was completed with a total of $ 24, 074 . 20 collected for the year with $9926 . 18 being turned over to the Supervisor. A total of $ 281 , 046 . 82 was collected to-date for taxes and the Supervisor was paid the General Fund total of $201 , 726 . Board Members and Committees Andrew Hillman reported the Trumansburg Ulysses Youth Commission met last Tuesday . They reported on the activities of the proceeding month . They have a fencing program in the future and are looking for a place to hold it. John Levine is working with a couple of youth workers in up-dating the Ulysses and Village of Trumansburg Home page . Carolyn Duddleston reported the Recreation Partnership meeting was cancelled last week. Supervisor Financial Report Supervisor Austic stated he has a limited report because the year-end books are not closed . He reviewed what he had . No questions were heard . He reported to the Board that he does have to up-date his financial program before the year 2000 . He is having Williamson Law and the program he is currently using demonstrate what they have . The cost will run from $2, 000 to $3, 500 . The Board left this up to his discretion . OLD BUSINESS Supervisor Austic introduced the following resolution for the elderly exemption to be increase for the Senior Citizens of Ulysses; ELDERLY EXEMPTION REAL PROPERTY WHEREAS, the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses has established a maximum income real property tax exemption eligibility level, pursuant to Section 467 of the Real Property Tax Law, and WHEREAS, the Town Board extended eligibility by establishing a sliding scale of exemption percentages for those with income between $ 19, 500 and $ 27,900 pursuant to the Real Property Tax Law, NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED the resolution establishing a maximum income exemption level for persons 65 years of age or older, adopted pursuant to Real Property Tax Law Section 467, are amended to read as follows: I u I \S?\ Town of Ulysses 4 Regular Board Meeting 1/ 12/99 ANNUAL INCOME PERCENTAGE ASSESSED VALUATION EXEMPT FROM TAXATION TOWN UP TO $ 19,500 50% 19, 501 but less than 20,499 45% 20, 500 but less than 21,499 40% 21, 500 but less than 22,499 35% 22, 500 but less than 23,399 30% 23,400 but less than 24, 299 25% 24, 300 but less than 25, 199 20% 25, 200 but less than 26,099 15% 26, 100 but less than 26,999 100/0 27,000 but less than 27,900 5% Mrs . Duddleston moved seconded by Mr . Hillman the foregoing resolution . Mr . Austic aye Mrs . Duddleston aye Mr . Hillman aye Mr . Weatherby aye Adopted . Mrs . Georgia will certify the resolution and forward to Tompkins County Assessment . Supervisor Austic suggested that two "resolutions of thanks" be put together to thank Jane and John Peck for their donation of the two engravings they donated to the Town . The other `resolution of thanks" will go to the Taughannock Garden Club for their work on the landscaping of the Town Hall . The Board agreed that this should be done . Mr . Austic will put something together . Mr. Austic also announced that there would be a Tompkins County Municipal Officers meeting January 19th for anyone interested at the Leheigh Valley restaurant at 6 PM . NEW BUSINESS Discussion of Board Member Appointment Mr. Hillman requested to move to executive session to discussion the appointment of the board member, Mrs . Duddleston seconded . Mrs . Georgia suggested to included in the resolution that it is a personnel matter . Mr. Hillman moved to adjourn to executive session for a personnel matter, seconded by Mrs . Duddleston . Town of Ulysses 5 1 ' Regular Board Meeting 1 / 12/99 Mr. Austic aye Mrs . Duddleston aye Mr . Hillman aye Mr. Weatherby aye Adopted . Regular Meeting adjourned at 8 : 25 PM . Mr . Penniman would like to comment on the candidates before the Board adjourns . He stated that the Democratic Committee met and endorsed three candidates for the new Board seat . Normally they endorse one but this time they endorsed all three but with a slight preference for Sue Poelvoorde than Scott Sears, than Jean Foley . Board Adjourned . At 8 : 50 PM Mrs. Duddleston moved to re-open the Regular Meeting second by Mr . Hillman . Unanimously approved . Mr . Austic asked for any nominations . Mrs . Duddleston moved to nominate Rodney Porter for Town Board Member, second by Mr. Austic . Mr. Weatherby moved to nominate Sue Poelvoorde for Town Board Member seconded by Mr . Hillman . Mr. Austic called for vote on Rodney Porter. Mrs . Duddleston aye Mr . Hillman nay Mr. Weatherby nay Mr. Austic nay Defeated . Mr. Austic called for a vote on Sue Poelvoorde . Mr. Hillman aye Mr. Weatherby aye Mrs . Duddleston aye Mr. Austic aye Adopted . Sue A . Poelvoorde was unanimously appointed to replace Peter Penniman who resigned the Ulysses Town Board position . The Board thanked all the interested candidates . Organization Agenda Supervisor Austic introduced the following resolutions : BE IT RESOLVED Regular Monthly Board meetings of the Ulysses Town Board will be held on the second Tuesday of each month at 7 : 30 PM in the Ulysses Town Hall at 10 Street, Trumansburg, NY. Board review of monthly claims will begin at 7 : 00 PM prior to each scheduled Regular Board Meeting . , .r °N) 9 Town of Ulysses 6 Regular Board Meeting 1/12/99 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED the designated news media be advised of the foregoing schedule and those meeting notices be posted in accordance with the open meeting law, on the clerk's bulletin board . BE IT RESOLVED mileage at a rate of 32 . 5 cents per mile shall be paid to Town Officials and employees conducting official business and driving their personal vehicles and that such mileage shall be reported on the appropriate forms provided . BE IT RESOLVED the Highway Superintendent is authorized to incur expenses not to exceed $3000 . 00 for repairs and maintenance of highway equipment without prior Board approval . BE IT RESOLVED the Building and Maintenance Chairman be authorized to incur expenses not to exceed $ 1000 .00 for emergency repairs and maintenance following established procurement policy procedures . BE IT RESOLVED the following bond undertakings for Town Officials is hereby approved as follows : A . Town Clerk/Tax Collector $250, 000 B . Justices (2) 4, 000 C . Court Clerical 4, 000 D . Code Enforcement Officer 1 ,000 E . Highway Superintendent 1 , 000 F . Town Supervisor 500, 000 G . Deputy Supervisor 15, 000 H . Deputy Town Clerk 15, 000 BE IT RESOLVED in lieu of the report required by Town Law Section . 29( 10) , the Supervisor be and hereby is authorized to submit to the Town Clerk a copy of his annual report to the State Comptroller and that the Town Clerk shall cause a summary thereof to be published in accordance with the law . BE IT RESOLVED the Ithaca Journal and/or The Trumansburg Free Press shall be and are hereby designated as the official Town publications . BE IT RESOLVED the Tompkins County Trust Company is designated as depository in which the Supervisor, Town Clerk, Justices, and other employees by virtue of their offices, shalt deposit all monies coming into their hands and, FURTHER RESOLVED the Town investments can be made at other banks as outlined in the Towns investment policy . BE IT RESOLVED the Town Board authorizes the Supervisor to pay in advance of audit of claims for utilities, postage and contractual agreements which if delayed may result in loss of discounts or the accrual of service charges . THE FOLLOWING ARE SUPERVISOR APPOINTMENTS FOR 1999 A. Town Historian Esther Northrup B . Deputy Supervisor Carolyn Duddleston C . Liaison to Highway Dept. Bob Weatherby D . Building Maintenance Doug Austic E . Liaison to Library Andrew Hillman F . Liaison to Village BD . Doug Austic G . Liaison to Justice CT Carolyn Duddleston Mr. Weatherby moved seconded by Mrs . Duddleston to re-appointed David Tyler to the Planning Board for a seven-year term Town of Ulysses 7 \LO Regular Board Meeting 1 / 12/99 Mr. Austic aye Mrs . Duddleston aye Mr . Hillman nay Mr . Weatherby aye Adopted . Mrs . Duddleston moved seconded by Mr . Weatherby to re-appoint Russell Carpenter to the Zoning Board of Appeals for a five-year term . Mr . Austic aye Mrs . Duddleston aye Mr. Hillman aye Mr. Weatherby aye Adopted . Mrs . Duddleston moved seconded by Mr . Weatherby to re-appoint Attorney Bruce Wilson to the position of Town Attorney . Mr . Austic aye Mrs . Duddleston aye Mr . Hillman nay Mr . Weatherby aye Adopted . Mr. Hillman moved seconded by Mrs . Duddleston to appoint Jean Foley to the Tompkins County EMC Board . Mr . Austic aye Mrs . Duddleston aye Mr . Hillman aye Mr . Weatherby aye Adopted . APPOINTMENTS MADE BY THE BOARD FOR 1999 A . Code Enforcement Officer Alex Rachun B . Deputy Zoning Officer John Fahs C . Deputy Code Enforcement Contract Village D . Planning Board Chair Peter Demjanec E . Bookkeeper Doug Austic F . Zoning Board Member & Chair George Tselakis G . Rep . Human Services Coal . Susan Madar H . Board of Assessment Review (2) Stover / Duddleston I . Election Custodians (2) Bennett / Northrup J . Cleaning Contract Laurie Maccheyne K . County Youth Bureau Rep . Ben Curtis L . Joint Youth Comm . Liaison Andy Hillman M . Rep . Cable Commission Ben Curtis N . Town Attorney Bruce D . Wilson 0 . Public Access Rep . Ben Curtis P . EOC vacant Town of Ulysses 8 Regular Board Meeting 1 / 12/99 Q . EMC Jean Foley R. Planning Federation Rep . Greg Hoffmire S . Intermunicipal Recreation . Rep . Carolyn Duddleston T. Master Plan Liaison Doug Austic U . Reps . To Joint Youth Comm . Debra Austic/Vonderweidt V . Planning Board Member David Tyler W . Ithaca/Tompkins Transportation Council Planning Comm . Sue A . Poelvoorde X. Ithaca/TompkinsTransportation Council Policy Comm: Doug Austic Y . Waterfront Development Planning Alex Rachun Z . Waterfront Development Policy Doug Austic M . TC Emergency / Disaster Comm . Fire Dept. Rep. BB . Comm . Links Rep . Scott Sears CC . TCAD Rep ./Town of Ulysses Peter Penniman DD . Speak Up Rep . Roger Rector EE . Trumansburg Fair Board Liaison Robert Weatherby BE IT RESOLVED the following is the schedule of salaries and wages for 1999 : ELECTED OFFICIALS : Town Supervisor $6000 . /yr. Town Board Members (4) 2, 792 . /yr . Justices (2) 10, 712 . /yr. Town Clerk/Tax Collector 31158 . /yr. Highway Superintendent 38850 . /yr. APPOINTED OFFICIALS AND EMPLOYEES Deputy Town Clerk $8 . 24/hr Deputy Supervisor negotiated as needed Bookkeeper 13 , 776 . /yr. Zoning Officer 11 , 738/yr . Deputy Zoning Officer 10 . 49/pH Building Inspector 12, 977/yr. Justice Clerical 21 , 858 /yr. Planning Zoning clerk 11 . 04/pH Deputy Highway Superintendent 14 . 31/pH Highway Employees 13 . 81/pH BE IT RESOLVED all employees shall turn in a time card by the end of the last day of the pay period, salaried employees shall do the same stating time used for vacation, sick time, holiday or other time off to maintain accurate recbrds of benefit time used . No pay will be issued without the presence of a time card . BE IT RESOLVED any individual wishing to be on the agenda , advise the Supervisor of that intent at least one week prior to the scheduled meeting . BE IT RESOLVED any individual having any special needs and wishing to attend a meeting please advise the Town Clerk of the special requirements at least one week prior to the meeting . (ADA) The foregoing resolutions were moved by Mrs . Duddleston seconded by Mr. Hillman to be approved . Mr. Austic - aye Mrs . Duddleston aye Mr. Weatherby aye • \Lk CC\ Town of Ulysses 9 Regular Board Meeting 1/ 12/99 Mr. Hillman aye Adopted . Date for Board Audit Supervisor Austic stated that a date had to beset for the annual audit of the Departments by the Town Board . The Board decided that Saturday morning January 23, 1999 would be a good time . The Department Heads will be notified . Other Supervisor Austic reported that the NYSEG called him on the streetlight for the Cayuga Nature Center. It seems that they need a Town Board resolution so they can bill the streetlight. Mr . Austic reviewed a little history of this . The Nature Center had requested this streetlight but before the Town Board could review the request the NYSEG installed the light with no permission from anyone . Mr. Hillman moved to table this seconded by Mrs . Duddleston . Unanimously approved . Mr. Austic also stated that a gentleman from Burdett has requested that the Town install a streetlight on the intersection of Perry City Road and Route 96 . Highway Superintendent Meeker requested that the Town Board does not pursue this because he feels streetlights can be more of a detriment to the safety of his crew . HEARING FROM GROUPS AND INDIVIDUALS Rodney Porter thanked the Board for their consideration CORRESPONDENCE Supervisor Austic received a letter from Robert Miller and Associates they are grant writers and grant developers . They will do an assessment to see if- the Town has a chance of getting a- grant for a fee of $ 500 . This would be for any grant. They would tell you if you qualify and if you do they would write the grant also . If the grant is received they would take a percentage of the grant other wise no fee . The Board felt this would be a worthwhile expense . Mrs . Duddleston moved seconded by Mr. Weatherby the following ; RESOLVED the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses authorizes Supervisor Austic to hire the firm of Robert Miller and Associates for a fee of $500 to do grant writing . Mr. Austic aye Mrs . Duddleston aye Mr. Hillman aye Mr. Weatherby aye Adopted . Hearing no further business Mr . Hillman moved seconded by Mr. Weatherby to adjourn the meeting . Hearing no objection it was unanimously approved . Meeting adjourned at 9 : 20 PM . Respectfully submitted Marsha L. Georgia Ulysses Town Cierk- MLG : mg