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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000-05-09 - TB 1 t I r I $ I . .fit, 'I II � ' J� It ,7 w. r II 77M 111 u 35 ULYSSES TOWN BOARD PUBLIC HEARING MAY 9, 2000 MINUTES PRESENT: Supervisor Doug Austic, Councilpeople; Carolyn Duddleston, Andrew Hillman, Sue Poelvoorde, Robert Weatherby, also present Jim Meeker, Marsha Georgia, Jason Fulton for Trumansburg Fire Department, Ed Sutherland for the Trumansburg Free Press, Randy Haus, Deputy Sherrill, George Kennedy for the Town of Ulysses Planning Board, and Catherine Stover A Public Hearing for Ulysses Town Law # 1 , 2000 was opened at 7: 15 p. m. No comments were heard and Mrs. Duddleston made the motion to close the hearing at 7 : . Mr. Hillman seconded the motion. Mr. Austic aye O Mrs. Duddleston aye Mr. Hillman aye Ms. Poelvoorde aye Mr. Weatherby aye Hearing closed. S 31° TOWN OF ULYSSES REGULAR TOWN BOARD MEETING 5/9/2000 MINUTES PRESENT: Supervisor Doug Austic, Councilpeople; Carolyn Duddleston , Andrew Hillman, Sue Poelvoorde, Robert Weatherby, also present; Highway Superintendent Jim Meeker, Town Clerk Marsha Georgia, Jason Fulton from Trumansburg Fire Department, Ed Sutherland from the Trumansburg Free Press, Tompkins County Under Sheriff, Randy Haus, George Kennedy of the Town of Ulysses Planning Board, and Catherine Stover. Supervisor Austic called the meeting to order at 7 : 30 p. m . and led those assembled in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America . APPROVAL OF MINUTES : Regular Town Board Meeting of 4/ 11 / 2000 The Board reviewed the minutes from their April 11th meeting . After making minor changes, Ms. Poelvoorde made a motion to accept the minutes. Mr. Hillman seconded the motion . Mr. Austic aye Mrs . Duddleston aye Mr. Hillman aye Ms . Poelvoorde aye Mr. Weatherby aye Adopted . APPROVAL OF MONTHLY CLAIMS A motion was made by Ms. Poelvoorde to approve vouchers # 174-222, in the amount of $23 ,978 . 53 . Mrs. Duddleston seconded the motion . Mr. Austic aye Mrs . Duddleston aye Mr. Hillman aye Ms. Poelvoorde aye Mr. Weatherby aye Adopted . REPORTS OF REPRESENTATIVES Trumansburg Fire Department: Jason Fulton reported for the Fire ID Department. Mr. Fulton reported that about $3 , 000 is to be spent to refurbish one of the fire trucks . The refurbishment will be done the week of May 8th in Syracuse . The Fire Department is in the process of putting a storage area on the back of the Fire Station . The area will be completely enclosed and will have an entrance on the rear side of the building . This area will be 119 feet long and 12 feet wide. Mr. Fulton brought sketches of the planned addition . The Fire Department will also be installing an air conditioner for the meeting rooms and office areas of the firehouse. Mr. Fulton presented the April report. There have been 15 fire calls in the past month including ; 1 village call , 7 town calls, 2 Hector calls, 2 Covert calls, and 3 mutual-aid calls . Total hours were 54 . 72 . There were 26 Ambulance calls in the month including 5 village calls, 15 town calls, 3 Covert calls, 2 Hector calls, and 1 mutual-aid call . Total hours for the ambulance were 83 . 53 . Training 3- 1 Town of Ulysses 2 Regular Board Meeting 5/9/2000 hours totaled 94. 5 . Fire and ambulance hours came to a total of 232 hours. The 41 calls in April are all the calls of the new year, which opened for the Fire Department on April 1st. Cayuga Lake Watershed Intermunicipal Organization : George Kennedy reported for the C. L.W .I . O. Mr. Kennedy asked that the I3oard choose from a list of issues for the I . O . to address ten "top" concerns. The (list and the selection of ten issues are the LO . 's effort to establish priority and consensus over issues among the municipalities of the Watershed Program . Tompkins County Sheriff's Department: Under Sheriff Randy Haus represented the Sheriffs Office. The Sheriff's Office is seeking to custom tailor its municipal services to the communities it serves. The efforts are a continuation of work done in Slaterville and Newfield . For the Town of Ulysses, customized service is planned around the Trumansburg School District's summer programs, expected to take place at the Trumansburg Fair Grounds during construction at the school . The Sheriff's Department has, planned to assign one officer to cover traffic in the area of the Fairgrounds. Mr . Haus also requested that the board provide information as to how the department could serve the Town . Mr. Austic asked about speed checks in the Town .. Mr. Haus reported that the Department tries to check the Jacksonville area once a shift. Mr. Austic's question was posed as a reflection of reports by Jacksonville residents of speeding through the hamlet. Mrs. Georgia reported on a request for information made in the Town Clerk's Office concerning a weekend music festival at the fairgrounds. Mrs. Georgia referred the inquiry to the Board of Health for camping regulations and the Sheriff's Department about the coverage of such an event. Other talk concerned Sheriff's Department coverage of the Grassroots Festival and Trumansburg Fair. The Sheriff's Department is seeking to work with the Fair Board to establish a standard of baseline coverage for the Grassroots Festival . To date, the Grassroots organization has been fairly discouraging of police coverage within the festival . The Department feels that the sheer numbers present at the Festival calls for a baseline of police coverage. The Festival has been looking to move to a different location . Local law enforcement is restricted to what the Festival organizers wish for law enforcement because the Fairgrounds are private property. Mr. Austic commented ! that parking, noise, and camping for the Festival are the Town's concerns about the Festival . Mr. Haus commented on the division of tickets between Town justices. There has been an uneven distribution of cases, resulting in crowding within the Town Offices on one of the two days on which Ulysses lawn Court is held . Mr. Austic asked what has been happening in the distribution of tickets to judges to even this out. Mr. Haus stated that the Sheriff's Department is trying to distribute cases more evenly. Mr. Haus also noted that the justices could refer cases to each other once they come to court. Another topic covered concerned the issuance of appearance tickets for unpaid dog licenses . Appearance tickets tend to be dropped because of a hesitancy to incarcerate owners who have not kept up on the licensing of their dogs. TOWN REPORTS . Highway Superintendent: Jim Meeker reported on the beginning of spring/summer work for the highway department. . The department has started patching the roads from the damage done throughout the winter months and has cleaned out and put away their salting and plowing equipment. Mr. Meeker also reported that the concrete for the addition's floor has been placed . Mr. Meeker passed out information on a highway school . II I Y lhr • , 1 J b 1 r i. y ' . 111 1 rt 4 Town of Ulysses 3 Regular Board Meeting 5/9/2000 Code Enforcement Officer: Alex Rachun was not present. Supervisor Austic reported for the Code Enforcement Officer. Six permits were issued this month including one for a new house, four for additions/alterations, and one zoning permit. Construction for these projects totaled $ 115, 000, and Mr. Rachun's report recorded $594 in collected fees . Town Clerk: Mrs. Georgia reported $ 1 , 632 was collected in fees . Of this, $709 . 98 was turned over to the Supervisor. Work on the house numbering project for Iradell Road has not progressed much . The Town of Ithaca did respond to her request for house numbers on said road, but the Town of Enfield has not responded . Board Members and Committees : BOARD MEMBER MRS . DUDDLESTON reported on the Recreation Partnership . At their last meeting, the partnership lacked a full quorum and was thus unable to vote on any matters . The group has decided to go ahead with a K-6th grade baseball program . They will be able to fully cover the expenses of the program provided they have at least thirty-three youth sign up . The baseball program will be capable of handling up to 60 youth . BOARD MEMBER MRS . DUDDLESTON AND MRS . STOVER FROM THE AUDIENCE reported on their attendance at an assessment workshop . They learned a good deal while at the workshop, and were made aware of their liability in handling recommendations for assessment changes . Mrs. Duddleston and Mrs . Stover also noted the Assessment Grievance day to be held on Thursday, May 11 , from 3-6 p . m . During this time, community members can bring completed grievance forms into the Town Offices to be considered for recommendation for changes by the County Assessment Department. An Assessment Department representative will be present for questions, but grievances which get a recomendation will need to be sent to the County Assessment Office . A number of community members are expected to bring in grievances. BOARD MEMBER MS. POELVOORDE reported on the rating of local projects by the Ithaca-Tompkins County Transportation Council for Assemblyman Luster's Office . Local projects on the Council's list were prioritized to be considered for funding by the New York State Multi- Modal Program . The Town of Ulysses Lake Street Bridge Project ranked high on this list . Supervisor: Doug Austic made his monthly report . Mr. Austic was notified by State Senator Kuhl 's Office that the Town's state aid has been increased by $ 1 , 350 for the year 2000 . Ms . Poelvoorde wondered if the Town had received grant money for the Jacksonville water district project and Mr. Austic confirmed that Kuhl's Office had sent money and Luster's Office had sent part of his monies . Mr. Austic received a call from the New York State Attorney General's Office regarding the gas spill in Jacksonville . The Attorney General's Office reported no hope for the Town in getting the Mobil Corporation to do anything more to clean up from the spill . In the same call , the Attorney General's Office also asked about the possibility of tearing down the houses owned by Mobil . On this matter, Mr. Austic reported that this could be possible if the Town felt the structures were dangerous, but he would like to give Code Enforcement Officer Alex Rachun the chance to look at the houses first . The Attorney General's Office also reported on its dealings with the Blue Ox Corporation in regards to the second gas leak in Jacksonville . Blue Ox's clean up is basically hindered by lack of corporate funds . The DEC is talking about putting state funds into cleaning up the gas . Mr. Austic reflected that it might be wiser for the DEC to apply its funds to establishing a water system rather than trying to clean up the gas which is very deep in the ground . 1 3ek Town of Ulysses 4 Regular Board Meeting 5/9/2000 Mrs. Georgia reported that a David Allie of Cornell had caned for Mr. Austic wondering if he could work on the Jacksonville situation . The Town is : waiting for the petition from 'Jacksonville to be completed . Work on the petition has been ongoing . OLD BUSINESS LOCAL LAW # 1 : Mr. Austic read the proposed amendment to the 1978 Dog License Law under Section 9, Penalties of said law . "A violation of this law shall constitute a violation as defined in the Penal Law of the State of New York, and shall be punishable by a penalty of not less than $25 for the first violation , not less than $50 for the second violation , and not less than x$75 for the third and all subsequent violations, or by imprisonment for a term not to exceed five days for each violation . These penalties shall be in addition to any other penalty provided by law . " Mr . Austic asked for discussion by the board or for a motion . Mrs . Duddleston moved the board amend the law as stated . Ms . Poelvoorde seconded . Mr. Austic aye Mrs . Duddleston aye Mr. Hillman aye Ms . Poelvoorde aye Mr. Weatherby aye Adopted . CAYUGA NATURE CENTER: The Center sent information on the,Tree Tops Arboretum and Ask a Naturalist projects which were tabled at the April 11th Board meeting . Mr. Austic requested the Board read the information on the projects in order to discuss them at the June meeting . The Cayuga Nature Center sent with the information a request for feedback From the board . NEW BUSINESS : HISTORIC PRESERVATION AWARD FOR TOWN HALL: Mr. Austic will be going to Historic Ithaca on May 10th to receive a historic preservation reward for the Town Hall . COMPUTER/ EQUIPMENT GRANT: The Town Court received a two-part grant including a computer system and , money for audio-visua0 equipment. Issue has arisen as to where to put the equipment from this grant, as there is no place for a computer on the court bench . Mr. Austic asked if the Board would like to get estimates of what it would cost to build a new, computer accessible bench . Mr. Austic will ask the Town Justices to look into this matter . Money for a new bench would come out of $20, 000 set aside in a reserve fund for the Town Hall . ZONING : Concern has arisen at recent meetings of the Planning Board over the "undue influence on the character of the Town " by Mobile Homes in the time it will take for the Planning Board to draw up the Town's new Zoning Ordinance . To handle the perceived annoyance of mobile homes, the Planning Board has written up la proposed amendment for the current Zoning Ordinance . The amendment redefines the "doublewide" homes as a mobile home, establishing that such be confined to mobile home/ doublewide parks approved by the Town according to the standards set out in the current Zoning Ordinance . A copy of the proposed amendment is available in the Town Clerk's Office . A public hearing is needed for this amendment, and the county will have to have up to thirty days to examine the proposed amendment. Mr. Austic wondered if the Town Board wished to advertise the proposed amendment in a legal ad announcing a public hearing for it. Lf 0 Town of Ulysses 5 Regular Board Meeting 5/9/2000 The Board discussed the matter. Mrs . Georgia asked what was the primary concern upon which the amendment was based ? Mr. Austic and Ms . Poelvoorde stated that property values were the primary concern the amendment sought to address . Doublewides lower property value because they are assessed different than modular and stick-built homes . Mr. Austic wondered if the amendment could be altered to say doublewide homes could be outside of trailer parks if they were on a permanent foundation . Mr. Austic asked if the Board did desire to put the amendment up for a public hearing . The Board agreed to have a public hearing and selected 7 : 00p . m . on June 6th as a time and date . Mr. Hillman made a motion to hold the public hearing at above date and time . Ms . Poelvoorde seconded the motion . Mr. Austic aye Mrs . Duddleston aye Mr. Hillman aye Ms . Poelvoorde aye Mr. Weatherby aye Adopted . HEARINGS FROM GROUPS AND INDIVIDUALS : MR. GEORGE KENNEDY from the Planning Board reported that there is a SEQR Regional Planning workshop on Friday, May 12th . Mr. Austic told Mr. Kennedy to submit a voucher to cover any fees for attending the workshop . CORRESPONDENCE : Mr . Austic received a correspondence on gun control laws from the Attorney General's Office . Applications are being accepted for small city block grants . Mr. Austic noted that the Town had not been successful in getting these grants in the past, but stated he would look at the opportunity anywise . The Lake Street Bridge Project has seen a rise in projected costs . ADJOURNJIENT: Mr. Hillman moved to adjourn the meeting . Mrs . Duddleston seconded . Mr. Austic aye Mrs . Duddleston aye Mr. Hillman aye Ms . Poelvoorde aye Mr. Weatherby aye Meeting adjourned . Respectfully Submitted, Marsha L. Georgia Ulysses Town Clerk MLG : mig