No preview available
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-10-09-TB PUBLIC HEARING Town of Ulysses Town Board Public Hearing October 9, 2012 Present: Supervisor Roxanne Marino; Councilpersons Elizabeth Thomas and Lucia Tyler; Deputy Supervisor Sue Poelvoorde; Town Clerk Marsha L. Georgia. Absent: Councilmen David Kerness and Kevin Romer Others Present: Tim and Betsy Fallon Supervisor Marino called the Public Hearing to order at 6 : 30 p .m . and gave background information on the local law being introduced at this public hearing. A LOCAL LAW TO OVERRIDE THE TAX LEVY LIMIT ESTABLISHED IN GENERAL MUNICIPAL LAW §3-C Be it enacted by the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses as follows : Section 1 . Legislative Intent: It is the intent of this local law to override the limit on the amount of real property taxes that may be levied by the Town of Ulysses, County of Tompkins pursuant to General Municipal Law § 3 -c, and to allow the Town of Ulysses, County of Tompkins to adopt a town budget for (a) town purposes, (b) fire protection districts, and (c) any other special or improvement district, and Town improvements provided pursuant to Town Law Article 12-C, governed by the Town Board for the fiscal year beginning January 1 , 2013 and ending December 31 , 2013 that requires a real property tax levy in excess of the "tax levy limit" as defined by General Municipal Law § 3 -c . Section 2. Authority: This local law is adopted pursuant to subdivision 5 of General Municipal Law § 3 -c, which expressly authorizes the Town Board to override the tax levy limit by the adoption of a local law approved by vote of at least sixty percent (60%) of the Town Board . Section 3. Tax Levy Limit Override: The Town Board of the Town of Ulysses, County of Tompkins is hereby authorized to adopt a budget for the fiscal year 2013 that requires a real property tax levy in excess of the limit specified in General Municipal Law § 3 -c. Section 4. Severability: If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, or part of this Local Law or the application thereof to any person, firm or corporation, or circumstance, shall be adjusted by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unconstitutional, such order or judgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, or part of this Local Law or in its application to the person , individual, firm or corporation or circumstance, directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment or order shall be rendered . Section 5. Effective date: This local law shall take effect immediately upon filing with the Secretary of State . Town Clerk Marsha Georgia read the proof of publication into the record. No comments were heard from the public . Ms . Mart' o closed the Public Hearing at 6 :45 p. m . Respectfully submitted . Marsha L . Georgia Ulysses Town Clerk 1 I. 1 Town of Ulysses Regular Town Board Meeting October 9, 2012 Audio available at www. ulysses .ny . us Present: Supervisor Roxanne Marino; Councilpersons Elizabeth Thomas and Lucia Tyler; Deputy Supervisor Sue Poelvoorde; Highway Superintendent James Meeker; Environmental Planner Darby Kiley; Town Clerk Marsha L. Georgia; and Attorney Marlette Geldenhuys . Absent: Councilmen David Kerness and Kevin Romer i Others Present: Tim Fallon; Betsy Fallon; John Wertis; Susan Ettinger; Louis DiPietro, Free Press Reporter; Lawrence McCain ; Diane Hillman ,Jacksonville Association; Richard Garner; and Bill Hilker Supervisor Marino called the meeting to order at 7 : 00 p .m . APPROVAL OF AGENDA Ms . Thomas moved, seconded by Ms . Marino the following : BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses approves the revised agenda dated 10/8/2012 . Ms . Marino aye Ms. Thomas aye Ms. Tyler aye Adopted 2012 BUDGET MODIFICATIONS Ms . Marino moved, seconded by Ms . Thomas the following resolution : BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses approves the 2012 Budget Modifications as follows : A Fund A1920 .4 Municipal Dues increase $ 145 . 00 A1910 .4 Unallocated Insurance decrease $ 145 . 00 DA Fund 5140 . 1 Brush & Weeds PS increase $ 800 . 00 5142 . 1 Snow Removal PS decrease $ 800 . 00 9060 . 8 Medical Insurance increase $ 10, 188 .00 5124 .4 Snow Removal decrease $ 10, 188 . 00 DB Fund 9060 Medical Insurance increase $ 6,446 . 00 5122 Highway Capital Imp. decrease $ 6,446 .00 Ms . Marino aye Ms . Thomas aye Ms . Tyler aye Adopted . APROVAL OF CLAIMS Ms . Marino moved, seconded by Ms . Thomas the following : BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses approves the previous examined vouchers 373 through 413 in the amount of $77,606 .23 . Ms . Marino aye Ms . Thomas aye Ms . Tyler aye I 1 ' I 1 Regular Town Board Meeting 2 October 9, 2012 Adopted APPROVAL OFIMINUTES The minutes for the Working Board meeting of 8/28/2012 and the Regular Town Board meeting of 9/ 11 /2012 were tabled . REPORT OF REPRESENTATIVES Tompkins County: Board Jim Dennis — not in attendance Trumansburg Fire Department/EMS — not in attendance A report was submitted to the Town Board and discussed . Trumansburg Village — not in attendance PRIVILEGE OF FLOOR John Wertis, Planning Board Member — read the following letter into the record . "I am here at this October 9 Town Board meeting at the invitation of Supervisor Marino; sort of. In my hard copy records of the Agriculture and Farmland Protection Plan Committee I came across the draft of a letter written by " SP " to be sent out over Supervisor Marino ' s signature in March of 2011 . Addressed to me and the other members of the Agriculture and Farmland Protection Committee it says : "I hope you will continue to be engaged in the final steps of the process to get a final plan and formal adoption by the Town Board . It will be important to have the opportunity to discuss with you the direction the committee recommended in the plan, " You have in your possession the October 1 , 2012 version of the Plan . Here in my hands is the February, 2011 , \ersion of the Plan, the last one I have seen until now. In her memo of October 2 , 2012, to the Ulysses Planning Board, relative to their review of the Plan, Supervisor Marino states : "In May of 2011 , Liz, Roxanne, Monika, John Wertis and sometimes Sue P . met to go thru the document and discuss edits as suggested by the AFPB and others to the Feb .201 I draft plan from the Committee . " Neither I , nor any other members of the Committee that I know of, saw those "edits" until copies of the October 1 version were made available at the end of last week. It can be said that the October 1 Version is better organized, has some extraneous Bergman sections eliminated or clarified, and appears to read smoothly as written by one hand . Unfortunately, one disputed section ?ever got clarified in the May discussions . It relates to the Committee' s viewpoint relative to current lot size regulations in the Al Zone in the 2007 Zoning Laws . Because zoning laws can have a profound influence on the business of Agriculture and the preservation of farm land, the Committee reviewed the entire 2007 Zoning document as to its effect on Agriculture . When one looks at Appendix C, p. 2, of the February, 2011 Committee Document, the comment recorded there fo'r Ulysses Zoning, Article V -5 . 7 Lot Area and Yard Requirements (in the Al Zone) is : "The smaller the minimum lot size required, the less acreage is removed from agricultural activity . " In the October, 2012 Version, that entry now reads : " Smallest minimum lots alone can result in scattered development next to farms and fragmented farmland . " Moreover, the "Recommendation " derived from each of the above differ. From the first it is suggested that the minimal lot size might be made even smaller; while from the second it is suggested that " Density-based or Fixed-Area Ratio Zoning should be incorporated for flexibility of lot size and to accommodate conditions " . Please restore the language to the original form . When you review the new version of the Plan, I you will find that there are multiple references to the zoning concepts of Density Based or Fixed -Area Ratio Zoning . These plans limit the ability a farmer (or any other land owner) has to sell off a small parcel of no or low value farm land when the need to augment cash flow for their business of farming occurs. Emphasizing these plans in the current version of the Plan makes it more an Open Space Protection Plan than one designed to protect Agriculture, the business of farming, and subsequently Farmland ." The Town Board will review Mr. Wertis ' s comments Diane Hillmankacksonville Community Association asked if any contact had been made with the responsible real 'estate people about the condition of the old Jacksonville church . Ms . Thomas said that Mr. Kerness hasl been working on that and unfortunately he is absent tonight and Ms . Thomas had no . 1 Regular Town Board Meeting 3 October 9, 2012 report. Ms . Hillman said that with winter coming on the condition of the church will only worsen . Mr. Lawrence McCain seconded what Ms . Hillman said . Tim Fallon of 3 Maplewood Point Road, Ulysses Lakeshore Association Secretary read the following into the record. "Good Evening, my name is Tim Fallon and I live at 3 Maplewood Point and I am secretary of the Ulysses Lakeshore Association . Thank you for your public service and thank you for hearing from your fellow citizens, even when it may not be what you want to hear . I have three requests that I would like to be made a part of a your minutes. I humbly request some assurance that the town will follow a democratic process where citizens are really heard, where their concerns are considered, where the process does not feel like a 'we versus them', and where governance is participatory, with full transparency, and not agenda driven . I humbly request a change in the public comment date from late October to the summer season when more residents are in town and able to participate in the input process . I want it on the record that the so called West Shore Homeowners Association does not represent most of the Town of Ulysses Lakeshore owners on this Lakeshore Zoning issue . If they insist on such representation, then we request their membership list of names and addresses to prove representation, their membership meeting dates with those present, and minutes of any such meetings . Again I thank you for your service . " Bill Hilker, owner of the self-storage units on Rabbit Run Road, presented a proposal to the Town Board for a new storage building on 4118 Rabbit Run Road as per the request by Councilman Kerness at the last Town Board meeting. The request was handed over to Ms . Kiley, Zoning Officer. TOWN REPORTS Planning Board/Zoning Officer Darby Kiley reported : Ms . Kiley briefed the Town Board on the activities of the Planning Board and Board of Zoning Appeals for September and early October. The Planning Board business included approval of two minor subdivisions, a site plan approval, and initial review of a multi-family structure . The activities of the Board of Zoning Appeals included approval of an area variance . Ms . Kiley reported that the Planning Board is discussing wetland protection in the town and passed a resolution that reads as follows : "that in order to recognize the importance of wetlands, the Town Board should move forward on identifying wetlands not currently regulated by New York State (those on the National Wetlands Inventory maps), and allocate or acquire adequate funding for mapping . " A representative from DEC will be speaking at the November 19th Tompkins County Water Resources Council meeting to present how New York State wetland maps are revised. There are several wetland resources in the town that are worth protecting . Stormwater The Tompkins County Stormwater Coalition sponsored a tour of green infrastructure projects on September 13 . Two Planning Board members and Ms . Kiley participated in the tour. Several years ago, the Stormwater Coalition applied for NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) grant funding to be used to offset the cost of developing stormwater laws and implementing those regulations . The Tompkins County Soil and Conservation office gathered reimbursement records from the participating towns and processed the paperwork through NYS DEC . The Town will be receiving a little over $ 10,000 to reimburse for attorney fees and the time that former Deputy Supervisor Richard Coogan spent on the Stormwater Program . Training Ms . Kiley advised the Town Board that Tuesday, October, 16 2012, she and Marlette Geldenhuys will have a training session for the Planning Board and Board of Zoning Appeals covering procedures for enforcing the Town ' s Zoning Law. Highway Superintendent James Meeker reported on the activities of the highway department for the month . Town Clerk Marsha Georgia reported the monthly fees turned over to the Supervisor. Ms . Georgia attended the Tompkins County Health Consortium Joint Committee for Plan, Structure and Design where Regular Town Board Meeting 4 October 9, 2012 they announced that Medco will no longer be the prescription drug company for the employees. Pro Act will be the new provider. Ms . Georgia said the new plan will go into effect January 1 , 2013 . She also reported that the group is still looking into Medicare Supplemental insurance for the retirees and they are meeting with the Town of Lansing about joining the Consortium . Ms . Georgia announced that there is a public meeting on Unique Natural Areas being held October 16, 2012, at the Tompkins County Public Library. Code Enforcement Officer Alex Rachun — not in attendance Mr. Rachun provided his report to the Town Board prior to the meeting. Supervisor Marino reported : • Distributed the operating statement • 2013 Tentative Budget distributed on October 2 , 2012 . Town Board met on October 3 , 2012 to discuss th'e budget. Ms . Marino will update the Tentative Budget and other materials for the next budget meeting on October 12 , 2012 . • Set up a meeting for October 19, 2013 to meet with Shannon Harris, who is with Habitat for Humanity, and Ms . Geldenhuys to explore details on how the Town might use the lien funds that have been repaid the Town from projects funded under the Better Housing Grant. • Announced two training opportunities : one covering Personnel and Ethics and Labor Law and the other Planning and Zoning. • The Attorney working with the multiple Towns on the Amicus Brief on the appeal of the Dryden and Middlefield "Home Rule" cases spoke with Ms . Marino and the appeal should be perfected by the end of the week, which means the papers will be filed by the plaintiff within 45 days . The Town Board,! as the administrators of the water districts, needs to schedule a meeting soon to review the water issues . Ms . Marino recommended that the Water Commission be invited. Deputy Supervisor Sue Poelvoorde will report later in the meeting under the Agriculture & Farmland Protection Plan . Deputy Supervisor Liz Thomas reported : • Worked on website uploading audio meetings • Answered numerous questions on Lakeshore Zoning • Worked On backup information for EMS • Worked on the Personnel Policy • Committee working on the Cable Franchise renewal will be hosting a public informational meeting on 11 / 1/2012 to see if cable users are having any problems Ms . Thomas discussed with the Town Board postponing the Public Informational meeting on the Lakeshore Zone but felt that it would be good to go forward with the informational meeting to gather public comments, and questions . Ms . Kiley will prepare a presentation that includes a comparison of how the Lakeshore is zoned currently and compare that! to what the new Lakeshore Zone proposes . TOWN BOARD MEMBERS AND COMMITTEES Ms. Tyler highlighted the reasons the Tompkins County Health Consortium decided to switch drug coverage from Medco to Pro Act, effective January 1 , 2013 . Ms . Tyler attended the Youth Commission meeting and reported that they have balanced their budget. Ms . Marino explained the cuts from United Way . Ms . Tyler said that the Commission is having discussions about a Recreation Director to have more organization and consolidation with the programs offered . Ms . Marino expressed her concerns about who is involved with these discussions . NEW BUSINESS Agriculture & Farmland Protection Plan - overview Ms . Poelvoorde gave an overview of the process that led up to the latest draft of the Agriculture & Farmland Protection Plan . Comments on the Agriculture and Farmland Protection Plan Committee 's February 2012 draft were solicited from the Tompkins County Agriculture & Farmland Protection Board and John Brennan, the New York State Ag and Markets representative. The comments were incorporated into the document along with those received from Town Board members . The most significant change was made to chapter #3 , which was a data-driven chapter with a lot of tables illustrating data from two Regular Town Board Meeting 5 October 9, 2012 different sources . The latest version puts a significant amount of the information into an appendix. Ms . Poelvoorde added an executive summary and introductory language at the start of chapters . Ms . Kiley updated data. In addition to the Town Board, the current document has been distributed to the Committee members, Planning Board, Tompkins County Agriculture & Farmland Protection Board and John Brennan. OLD BUSINESS Local Law to Override Tax Cap Ms . Tyler moved, seconded by Ms . Marino the following: LOCAL LAW NO. 2 FOR THE YEAR 2012 A LOCAL LAW TO OVERRIDE THE TAX LEVY LIMIT ESTABLISHED IN GENERAL MUNICIPAL LAW §3-C Be it enacted by the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses as follows : Section 1 . Legislative Intent: It is the intent of this local law to override the limit on the amount of real property taxes that may be levied by the Town of Ulysses, County of Tompkins pursuant to General Municipal Law §3 -c, and to allow the Town of Ulysses, County of Tompkins to adopt a town budget for (a) town purposes, (b) fire protection districts, and (c) any other special or improvement district, and Town improvements provided pursuant to Town Law Article 12-C, governed by the Town Board for the fiscal year beginning January 1 , 2013 and ending December 31 , 2013 that requires a real property tax levy in excess of the "tax levy limit" as defined by General Municipal Law §3 -c . Section 2 . Authority: This local law is adopted pursuant to subdivision 5 of General Municipal Law § 3 -c, which expressly authorizes the Town Board to override the tax levy limit by the adoption of a local law approved by vote of at least sixty percent (60%) of the Town Board . Section 3 . Tax Levy Limit Override : The Town Board of the Town of Ulysses, County of Tompkins is hereby authorized to adopt a budget for the fiscal year 2013 that requires a real property tax levy in excess of the limit specified in General Municipal Law § 3 -c. Section 4. Severability: If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, or part of this Local Law or the application thereof to any person, firm or corporation, or circumstance, shall be adjusted by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unconstitutional, such order or judgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, or part of this Local Law or in its application to the person, individual, firm or corporation or circumstance, directly involved in the controversy in which such judgment or order shall be rendered. Section 5. Effective date: This local law shall take effect immediately upon filing with the Secretary of State. Ms. Marino aye Ms . Thomas aye Ms . Tyler aye Adopted . 2013 Tentative Budget Ms . Marino has updated the 2013 Tentative Budget and the Town Board will be meeting to discuss these revisions on October 12, 2012 . Trumansburg Golf Course Ms. Marino reported that the Town has learned from an article in the Trumansburg Free Press that the Village of Trumansburg may be considering annexing the Trumansburg Golf Course ' s (TGC) property following a request from the TGC ' s board of directors . Ms . Marino noted that of the 123 acres owned by the course, 111 are in the Town of Ulysses . The Town has not been invited or included in any of the discussions despite Ms . Marino ' s request to be included . She suggested that the Town write a letter to the TGC ' s Board to advise them that the Town will have to be involved in the annexation proceeding from the start and also remind them that Ms . Marino expressed the Town ' s interest in participating in the discussions . Regular Town Board Meeting 6 October 9, 2012 Ms . Geldenhuys reviewed the legal process to complete an annexation . Ms . Geldenhuys had previously prepared a formal outline of the annexation process for the Town for the Auble property annexation . She will forward the document to the Town Board . EMS Ms. Thomas reported that the Village of Trumansburg presented the 2013 Fire and EMS budget on October 3 , 2012 . Ms. Tyler and Ms. Thomas attended the meeting. Ms . Thomas reviewed information presented at the meeting including explanations given by the Village on their calculations . The Board discussed the lack of information about the contract with the Town of Covert, which does not include the Village of Interlaken . Ms. Geldenhuys expressed the importance of obtaining a copy of this contract. Mr. Romer arrived at 8 : 50 p . m . Ms . Thomas noted that the Village ' s attorney said that under General Municipal Law the Trumansburg Village EMS is prohibited from responding to Ulysses without a certificate of need or contract. The attorney also said that only the Fire Department can respond because Ulysses does not have a contract for EMS and he has advised the Fire Department not to respond without a Trumansburg ambulance going out on every call . MsiThomas explained that this EMS assist service is where the Village came up with the $ 192,000 surcharge on the Fire contract. Ms . Geldenhuys noted that the Village is bundling EMS service into the Fire contract despite the fact that the Trustees said at one of their Board meetings they would not bundle the two services . The Town Board discussed the contract price for the Town of Ulysses for Fire/ EMS for $385 ,000 and the contract for just Fire for $355 ,000, which includes the EMS assist service surcharge amount of $ 192,000 if the Town only contracted for fire service. The Town Board discussed the many questions they still have and the need to have access to documents, etc . and questions answered in writing from the Village of Trumansburg. Ms . Thomas will put together a FOIL request to obtain information from the Village . Executive Session Ms . Marino moved, seconded by Ms . Thomas the following : BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Ulysses adjourns to Executive Session for discussion with the attorney . Ms . Marino aye Ms. Thomas aye Ms. Tyler aye Mr. Romer aye Adopted The Town Board adjourned to Executive Session at 9 : 15 p . m . Meeting reconverted at 10 : 11 p . m . Mr. Romer moved, seconded by Ms . Tyler to adjoin the Town Board meeting. Unanimously approved, meeting adjourned at 10 : 12 p.m . Respectfully submitted, Marsha L. Georgia Ulysses Town Clerk