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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-05-13 - TB TOWN OF ULYSSES REGULAR TOWN BOARD MEETING MAY 13 , 2008 PRESENT : Supervisor Douglas Austic ; Council Rod Ferrentino, David Kerness, and Elizabeth Thomas ; Lucia Tyler absent; Town Clerk Marsha L. Georgia; Deputy Supervisor Richard Coogan; Highway Superintendent James Meeker; Attorney Mariette Geldenhuys . Others Present : Geoffrey Hart, Diane Hillman, Tom Mann, Jim Dennis, Roxanne ! Marino, Sheriff Meskill, John Wertis, Chris Thomas and Bill Chaisson. Supervisor Austic called the meeting to order at 7 : 30 PM and led those assembled in the pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Ms . Thomas moved, seconded by Mr. Austic the following: BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses approve the minutes of the Special Town Board meetings of March 27, 2008 and the Public Hearing of February 25th, 2008 with the minor corrections and changes . FURTHER Resolved that the minutes be posted on the web page. Mr. Austic aye Mr. Ferrentino aye Mr. Kerness aye Ms. Thomas aye Ms . Tyler absent Adopted Tabled the minutes for April 8th and April 24th APPROVAL OF CLAIMS Mr. Austic moved, seconded by Mr. Kerness the following: BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses approve the following budget modification : Increase line DA5130 .2 $ 12,397 Decrease Equipment Reserve by this $ 3000 increase. Further Resolved that the Town Board advertise for a permissive resolution for this transfer from the Equipment Reserve in the amount of $3000. Mr. Austic aye Mr. Ferrentino aye Mr. Kerness aye Ms . Thomas aye Ms . Tyler absent Adopted Mr. Kerness moved, seconded by Ms. Thomas the following resolution : BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses approve the previous examined vouchers numbers 142 through 186 in the amount of $ 50778 . 49 . Regular Town Board Meeting 2 05/ 13/2008 Mr. Austic aye Mr. Ferrentirio aye Mr. Kerness aye Ms . Thomas aye Ms. Tyler absent Adopted REPORTS OF REPRESENTATIVES Tompkins County Representative Jim Dennis reported that the County was unsuccessful in their search for a County Administrator and Steve Witcher was reappointed until the end of the budget cycle. Mr. Dennis said that the County Legislature is working towards a 3 % tax levy increase for next year which would mean a ruff deduction in the tax rate of 11 . 9% which leaves the County Legislatures and Department heads looking for about 2 million dollars in cuts . Mr. Dennis said that the County is looking into going back to the annual assessment and not the 3 year. Mr. Dennis feels that most of the legislators will support this move . Mr. Dennis reported that the Governor had a press conference and has promised that Dot and the State will come up with a solution for garbage trucks that travel RT . 89, 79 and 96 . Mr. Deninis feels that this is a very ambitious schedule. Village of Trumansburg Update - Chris Thomas, Village Trustee reported that the Village is considering the purchase of the building behind the Town Hall to provide residents of the Town and Village with a Community Center. The Village is meeting on the 27th with Mr. Griswold and try and negotiate the price and how and when the building can be cleaned which would determine if the Village could take ownership or not. The Village is certainly interested in the Town' s perception of the transfer and if the Town would be interested in participating. Mr. Kerness asked if anyone had put together a cost analysis of what it will take : a) to meet OSHA 'standards, and b) determine what is to be done with the building. Mr. Thomas said that there is a cost estimate of $ 10,000 for abatement of the asbestos inside the building and that is contingent on it being done before the municipality takes over the land . If the municipality takes over first then every thing doubles in price. The idea is to have all of the cleaning done before the building changes hands which are almost a necessity in terms of cost effectiveness . Mr. Thomas said that the cost now is around $50, 000 which is a reasonable cost, but in the negotiations if the Village could pay $20,000 or $25 ,000 for the building and then the Phone Company pay for the abatement. That is what the Village is looking for and getting a clean building. Mr. Kerness asked if a cost estimate had been established for the improvements of the building, after the purchase and after the liability issues . Mr. Thomas said that after the negotiations, once the numbers come down, the Village is talking to Allen Vogel, Don Schlather, and John Ullberg, who are the community representatives, and their plan is to make this a community project, hit a little bit at a time and they say they can turn this around in five, ten, twelve years into something that is a community center. Mr. Thomas said that the specifics of it are not important; the idea is that the Village will carry the land, the liability, and community donations and voluntary support will help in the rehabilitation of it so there are no specific cost estimates because there is no specific idea how the building is going to end up . Regular Town Board Meeting 3 05/ 13/2008 Ambulance - Mr. Thomas said that at the Village meeting last night they passed a resolution to move towards third party billing for ambulance service provided by the Trumansburg Fire Department with the idea of moving towards a referendum to determine the level of acceptance from residents . Today the Village found out that by Law the Village can not issue a referendum. The Village had an emergency meeting today and has amended their resolution and will still be moving forward with the process, the idea being to get as much information to the whole community in the Fire District and then hold a public informational meeting sometime late June or early July. The income from billing for ambulance service would flow back to the Fire Department to be used as incentives to attract more volunteers for the Department. Ms . Thomas asked for confirmation of the procedure the Village is going to follow on the 3rd party billing. Mr. Thomas said that originally the Village was going to have a public meeting because they were going to go to referendum and the referendum would take the place of a public hearing. Now because the Village can not have a referendum it is their intention to have a public hearing and hold it possibly in one of the school ' s auditoriums at the end of June or first of July. Mr. Thomas would like to see the Town ' s of Ulysses, Covert and Hector provide the Village with resolutions stating that they are or are not in favor of the 3rd party billing. The Board will continue with this discussion at the second Board meeting scheduled for May 22nd at 7 pm . Planning Board John Wertis reported that the Planning Board has no construction or development activity before them . Mr. Wertis said that under the leadership of Chairman Zeserson and with the assistance of Deputy Supervisor Coogan the Planning Board has developed interest in exploring Unique Natural Areas (UNA) and the management of the steep slopes near the lake which will be the topic of the next Planning Board meeting, also the County is presenting a program on UNA ' s . Comprehensive Plan Committee Ms. Marino reported that the Comprehensive Plan Committee has been meeting and they held two public workshops, which were very successful . Ms . Marino said that in order to keep on schedule the Committee would like to make the draft Comprehensive Plan accessible to the public by having copies on the Town ' s web page, at the library, have hard copies at the Town office so that people could have enough time to read through it before there is more public input . Ms . Marino said that the other thing related to the Comprehensive Plan is the Ag Protection Plan that the Town got a grant for. There will be a meeting of a sub- committee of the Comprehensive Plan Committee with Monica Roth and Bergerman at the end of this month. Ms . Marino said that there was a good presentation at the Comprehensive Planning public workshops by Tom Daniels who has written several books on planning and agricultural land protection and mechanisms to make it as equitable as possible. When this discussion takes place with Monica and the others on how to implement try and get a committee of farmers either renters or owners and large farmland owners who are interested in this project to give the committee some advise on how to go about it. Ms . Thomas said that the CPC has invited the chair of the Village ' s Comprehensive Plan to attend a meeting on May 27th, 2008 . Ms . Thomas also announced that the secretary to the CPC, Robin Carlisle has resigned and they are looking for a replacement. The CPC will look for a replacement which was fine with the Board. Regular Town Board Meeting 4 05/ 13/2008 PUBLIC PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR Sherriff Meskill and Tom Mann head of security for Grassroots are attending the meeting tonight to tall( about the parking situation for the festival. The biggest concern is not just the parking on Rabbit Run Road but the camping days before the start of the event. Sherriff Meslill said there is no one law to address this issue other a no parking law. Attorney Geldenhuys has done some research on this. Highway Superintendent James Meeker said he had the idea that the Town Board pass a resolution that there would be no parking 48 hours prior to any event and post it on both ends of Rabbit Run Road and also say no camping too . Ms . Geldenhuys said that she feels that everyone is on the same track but really the only way to address the problem and regulate would be by some kind of parking regulation. Ms . Geldenhuys said that the regulation should not be targeted to a particular event. A local law would be the best way to go. The Board had a lengthy discussed about this issue with Tom Mann, Sheriff Meskill and Mr. Meeker. Ms . Marino wanted to note that she is happy to see the Town Board is looking into the wind power 1aw . TOWN REPORTS Highway Superintendent Meeker said that he wanted to express his thanks to everyone at the meeting tonight for all of their sympathy, gifts, and support during his wife ' s death. Mr. Meeker said that it is nice to live in a small community where you have so much support and just don ' t realize all the people that you know and are out there to help, which he appreciates very much. Mr. Meeker reported that he looked over the 1990 Gradall that was being auctioned off on Saturday and was able to pick-up the used equipment for $ 12, 500 . The old Gradall will be used for parts . Mr. Meeker continued reporting the Highway Departments activities as follows : • Finished cleaning up shoulders and intersections • Cleaned up the cemeteries of brush and limbs • Removed and cleaned up the salt boxes • Patched all Town roads with cold patch • Working on trucks, changing oil and filters • Hauling stone for paving projects and sealing projects The Board discussed with Mr. Meeker road-side trash and brush pick-up . Mr. Meeker 'said that it is no longer cost effective to pick-up road side brush and trash. It is very expensive to take the trash to the landfill and also it takes a lot of manpower. Mr. Meeker does allow yard waste, brush and limbs to be dropped off at the Town Barns. Mr. Meeker said that the Town of Enfield is bringing in dumpsters this week for people to bring stuff to the barns . Mr. Meeker said that when you do the dumpsters you still have to monitor what is brought in so that the wrong things do not go into the dumpsters such as batteries or tires . The Board suggested that he look into the price that Enfield is paying and they would go from there. Code Enforcement Officer Alex Rachun absent. i i Regular Town Board Meeting 5 05/ 13/2008 Town Clerk Marsha L. Georgia reported that a total of $ 1 , 119 . 00 was collected for the month of April in clerk fees of which $275 . 00 was turned over to the Supervisor along with her monthly report and $ 530 was collected in Water fees. Town Board Members and Committees Ms . Thomas reported that she attended the Village meeting and it was reported that the Village received two celebration awards one for the summer Main Street celebration and the other one for the Winter Festival . The Village mentioned wanting to be involved in the Water quality testing when the Town gets back into that. Ms . Thomas said that the Main Street lights have been ordered and the dead trees are soon to be replaced. The Village reported that they are going ahead with the Youth program of doing outdoor movies in July on the lawn by the Village Hall . Ms . Thomas said that there was a report from "Sustainable Trumansburg" and they will be putting in bike racks and having a bike clinic for repair of bikes. Supervisor Austic previously distributed the monthly financial report and no questions were heard . Deputy Supervisor Richard Coogan reported that he had received an application for PDR (Purchase Development Rights) from John Wertis on his 90 acres and talking with the County what he needs is direction from the Town Board because the Town can do things such as wait for the Ag Protection Plan. (Application was due in April so this application would not be until next April . ) Mr. Coogan said that if you wait for the Ag Protection Plan or undertake the option to go for a PDR, or you can decide to partner with the County on PDR ' s . Mr. Coogan needs direction from the Board to see if this land is high enough on the priority list of land that wants to be saved. Ms. Thomas said that she thought there are a lot of different options brought up at the workshop that Tom Daniels mentioned different types of ways that you can encourage agricultural lands to be protected. Mr. Coogan said that Tom was referring to what the County has been doing. The County has done four purchases of development rights with Cooperative Ext. working with farmers . The County has been an agent on some of them and sometimes they partner with the local municipality. Mr. Coogan said that you need a municipality in place; County will get involved if they think the land comes up high enough on their priority list of land that should be saved which they have a list of criteria. There are many questions to be answered and the Board feels that they would like more information. Mr. Coogan is willing to arrange to have Scott Doyle of Tompkins County Planning who is the planner for the County that would be involved, come and speak with the Town Board. The Board would appreciate Mr. Coogan arranging this meeting and see if he could attend the June working session on the 26th Mr. Coogan also reminded the Board that the annual Stormwater public hearing is due. The Town Board set a public hearing for June 10th at 7 PM prior to the Regular Town Board meeting. OLD BUSINESS Advisory Committees Mr. Austic introduced a couple of resolutions to be discussed and considered at a later date. Regular Town Board Meeting 6 05/ 13/2008 Resolution to Establish a Resident Water Advisory Commission Whereas : At the time of the creation of water districts within the Town of Ulysses and the Ulysses Water Public Law was adopted, it was the intent to create a form of resident control over the operation of the water districts, and Whereas : With four districts already formed or the potential for more districts, it becomes increasingly important to establish a water advisory commission to help the town board in its decision making in regards to water district operation and maintenance, and Whereas : It is the intent that this commission be composed of volunteers from each district to take up questions involving water district management, be the original investigator of complaints, extensions, and improvements of the Town' s Water Districts, and advise the Town Board as to the resolution of these questions, Now Therefore it be Resolved : That the Ulysses Town Board does hereby establish a Water Advisory Commission to aid the board with the operation and maintenance decisions of the water districts within the Town. EMS Parcel Identification Signs Resolution Whereas : Historically there have been difficulties in finding addresses during emergency responses in the Town of Ulysses, and Whereas : The Town of Ulysses was successful ful in acquiring a grant of $20, 000 from Barbara Lifton ' s office to finance the purchase of parcel identification signs for each parcel in the Town, and Whereas : The parcel signs have been produced and the majority of them already placed by volunteers from the Trumansburg Fire Department and others, and the remainder will be installed shortly as time permits, and Whereas : This project was initiated to aid property identification in both emergency and everyday situations and is a direct benefit to the residents of the Town of Ulysses, Now Therefore Be it Resolved : That the Town of Ulysses will be responsible to purchase and install the original property identification sign on each parcel requiring one, and that there after the owner of the property is responsible to maintain the sign in such condition that it can be easily visible and read from the highway. In the future it will be the property owner ' s responsibility to replace damaged signs to continue the projects purpose of ease of property identification. Request for Planning Board Review Resolution Mr. Kerness moved, seconded by Ms. Thomas the following: Whereas : With significant focus by the Town Board on Water Requirements/District development and the Comprehensive Plan, I would like the Plannirig Board in parallel to review Zoning Laws for: 1 . Unique Natural Areas (target 6/08) * 2 . Conservation Zoning (target 3/09)* 3 . Lake Front Zoning (target 10/08) * 4 . Alternate Energy (TBD) 5 . Residential Zoning (TBD) 6 . ComMercial Development (TBD) *Planning Board Recommendation to the Town Board Regular Town Board Meeting 7 05/ 13/2008 Whereas : For Unique Natural Areas, Conservation Zoning and Lake Front Zoning significant work has been done by the County and the Town of Ithaca and could serve as a template for Ulysses review and implementation. Whereas : Alternate energy sources : wind mills, geothermal, etc. has also been reviewed and adopted by many municipalities within the state and could be evaluated for our use. Whereas : The last two, Residential and Commercial Zoning updates would be the natural outgrowth of our Comprehensive Plan and Water District development, and assure the orderly implementation of both. Whereas : These actions should be concluded by December 2010 and include reviews of existing zoning, recommended language, public meetings for specific comments and final Town Board recommendations . The detail schedule for these reviews and recommendations are outlined in the Water District Plan. This effort would allow the Town Board to evaluate our Water Needs, Water District and the Comprehensive Plan concurrently with zoning to assure we protect the natural beauty of our town and serve the needs of our community. Now Therefore Be it Resolved : That the Planning Board follow through on the fore mentioned tasks and recommend to the Town Board zoning considerations for: 1 . Unique Natural Areas 2 . Conservation Zoning 3 . Lake front Zoning 4 . Alternate Energy 5 . Residential Zoning 6 . Commercial Development Zoning Mr. Austic aye Mr. Ferrentino aye Mr. Kerness aye Ms . Thomas aye Ms . Tyler absent Adopted NEW BUSINESS Town of Ithaca Wind Power Law The Town Board is in receipt of the Town of Ithaca ' s Wind Power Law; discussed briefly and are in agreement that they look it over and then go from there. Copies will be provided to the Planning Board. Dog Control Officer Employee Agreement Mr. Austic moved, seconded by Mr. Kerness the following agreement: CONTRACT FOR EMPLOYMENT : DOG CONTROL OFFICER THIS AGREEMENT is made this 15 day of April, 2008 by and between the TOWN OF ULYSSES , a municipal corporation with offices at Elm Street, Trumansburg, New York 14886, hereafter referred to as "the Town" and Chris Austin, residing at 3703 County Road 143 , Trumansburg, NY 14886, hereafter referred to as "the Employee". WHEREAS , the Town requires the services of a Dog Control Officer to perform the duties set forth in Article 7 of the Agriculture and Markets Law; and WHEREAS , the Town selected Chris Austen to perform these services for the Town as an employee ; and • Regular Town Board Meeting 8 05/ 13/2008 NOV , in consideration of the covenants, conditions and provisions contained herein, it is hereby AGREED as follows : 1 . The Employee hereby agrees to perform the services set forth in this Agreement for the Town for the period of eight months, commencing May 1 , 2008 and ending December 31 , 2008 . 2 . The Employee will act as the Dog Control Officer for the Town, as set forth in Article 7 of the Agriculture and Markets Law, and in particular § 114 of said Law. 3 . The Employee will perform the duties set forth in Attachment 1 ( "Dog Control Officer, Tompkins County") with the following modifications and additions : a. The Employee will deliver any dogs he seizes to the Tompkins County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (hereafter "SPCA"). The 1 SPCA will provide shelter for the dogs as required by § 115 and 118 of the Agriculture and Markets Law, pursuant to a separate Agreement between 1 the Town and the SPCA, a copy of which is attached hereto as Attachment 2 . b . The Employee will perform all the duties of the Town of Ulysses as set I forth in Attachment 2 , including, but not limited to, the following: i . Dogs seized by the Employee within the Town of Ulysses shall be transported by the Towns Dog Control Officer (DCO) to the Tompkins County SPCA ' s shelter during the shelter' s regular business hours or by making arrangements with the Society' s Animal Control Officers (ACO) or the Rescue receptionist. ii . The Employee shall complete the DL- 18 form and supply the SPCA with a copy of the form at the time the dog is impounded at the shelter. If a dog is delivered to Cornell Animal Hospital for emergency attention during over-night hours, a copy of the completed CL- 18 shall be faxed to the Society the following morning. The Society shall assign a unique Dog/Shelter ID number for each dog seized and will provide both the Employee and the Town of Ulysses Clerk with the revised CL- 18 form upon the dog ' s final disposition. 4 . The Employee will be paid for such services on a monthly basis, determined as follows : $ 611 . 11 : Total compensation for the Employee shall not exceed $5 ,500. Payment shall be made by the Town upon receipt of a Request for Payment by the Employee. Such Requests shall include a description an documentation of the services performed. 5 . The Employee shall receive no fringe benefits from the Town, including, but not limited. to, medical insurance and retirement benefits . 6 . This Agreement contains the entire agreement between the parties and there are no other understandings or agreements between them. 7 . By signing this Agreement, the Employee certifies that he has read this Agreement and its attachments (the Dog Control Officer, Tompkins County 1 position description (Attachment 1 ) and the Impoundment Contract (2008) between the Town of Ulysses and the SPCA (Attachment 2). The Employee understands the terms of this Agreement and its Attachments and consents thereto .; 8 . The Town may terminate this Agreement at any time without cause, in which case the Employee shall be paid for the work performed to the date of termination. Regular Town Board Meeting 9 05/ 13/2008 9 . This Agreement may be amended only with the written consent of both parties, executed with the same formality as this Agreement. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Town and the Employee have executed this Agreement as of the date first written above. TOWN OF ULYSSES : Date : BY : Doug Austic, Supervisor Employee : Date : Chris Austin Mr. Austic aye Mr. Ferrentino aye Mr. Kerness aye Ms . Thomas aye Ms. Tyler absent Adopted Mr. Kerness said that he feels that Mr. Austin, Dog Control Officer should have some form of identification. The Board agreed . Ms . Georgia said that she had forwarded to the Town Board in reference to updating the Town ' s Dog Law . The Board had not received this and the Clerk will email it again. Public Comments Ms . Marino asked if the hiring of the Dog Control Officer was going to be the Town ' s policy from now on or is it a term. The Board answered that it is a term for the end of this year. Hearing no further business Ms . Thomas moved, seconded by Mr. Ferrentino to adjourn the meeting. Unanimiously approved. Meeting adjourned at 9 : 35 PM . Respectfully submitted, Marsha L. Georgia Ulysses Town Clerk MLG : mlg