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HomeMy WebLinkAbout7.18.2005 Minutes.pdf Page 1 of 6 Minutes of Regular Meeting July 18, 2005 Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees Present: Mayor Lynn, Trustees Antil, Collyer, McNeil, and Mount, and Atty. Tyler, Police Chief Lansing, Treasurer Silber, Chief Lansing, Supt. Cross, Supv. Quick, Clerk Manning Absent: Trustee Staley, Fire Supt. Tamborelle Others: Tom Schickel, Rob Colbert, Jim Warren, Bryan Warren, Dr. Stephen Tien ****************************************************************** At 7:00 pm, Mayor Lynn called the Meeting to order. The first order of business was the approval of the minutes of June 20 and the minutes of the special meeting of June 28, 2005. Motion by Trustee Collyer Seconded by Trustee McNeil Move to approve the minutes of June 20, 2005 Trustees Antil, Collyer, McNeil and Mount voted YES. Motion by Trustee Antil Seconded by Trustee McNeil Move to approve the minutes of June 28, 2005. Trustees Antil, Collyer, McNeil and Mount voted YES. ***************************************************** Privilege of the Floor No one wished to speak at Privilege of the Floor. ***************************************************** At this point, the Board convened as a Planning Board to listen to a presentation by Supt. Cross on the application of Warren Real Estate’s plans for a proposed new building at 828-830 Hanshaw Road. Jim Warren then gave a history of his business, addition, etc. He explained that he has always regretted not owning the building at 830 Hanshaw Road, so he was delighted when he was able recently to purchase it from the Petrillose’s. His original intent was to expand his present business by connecting his building with the newly purchased building by a breezeway. Tom Schickel of Schickel Architecture advised Jim that that plan wasn’t feasible, so a plan was developed to tear down the newly purchased building and build a new building. The new building would house Warren Real Estate, and the existing Warren building would house a banking institution with a drive-through. The bank would use the existing driveway, and a second entrance/exit would be constructed for the new Warren Real Estate building. There were many concerns about a second entrance on N. Triphammer Road, as well as office hours, a drive through, lighting for an ATM, etc. The Mayor advised Tom Schickel to obtain input from Chief Lansing about the ramifications of a driveway on N. Triphammer Road. Mayor Lynn then asked about stormwater. Supt. Cross said that it is not identified on the plans, but should be addressed. Trustee McNeil asked if the number of employees would greatly increase. Mr. Warren said that there currently 30 employees employed at Warren Real Estate, and that number would not increase. Treasurer Silber asked about the lot coverage. Supt. Cross answered that the coverage would max out at the allowable limit and that two variances would be required. The next step in the process is to hold a public hearing on the project at the next Board meeting. The Mayor asked for a motion to set a public hearing for August. Page 2 of 6 Motion by Trustee McNeil Seconded by Trustee Mount Move to set a Public Hearing for August 15 at 7:00 P.M. for the Warren Real Estate Development Plan. Trustees Antil, Collyer, McNeil and Mount voted YES. ************************************************************** At 7:40m, Attorney Tyler, who was not present when the meeting convened, arrived for the meeting. ************************************************************** Report of the Mayor Mayor Lynn asked the Board to approve the three summer appointments, Joe Lisi, Lindsay Russell, and Tracy Eaton, who are working in the Village Hall for the Supt. of Public Works, the Clerk, and the Police Chief respectively. Motion by Trustee Antil Seconded by Trustee Mount Move to approve the following summer appointments from funds for these appointments which are included in the approved 2005-06 Budget: Lindsay Russell at $10.50/hour (records management); Joe Lisi at $10.00/hour (fire inspections and other assignments); and Tracy Eaton @ $11.94/hour (police office assistance). Trustees Antil, Collyer, and Mount voted YES. Trustee McNeil abstained. At this point, Treasurer Silber commented that there is concern with wage rates and their appropriateness relating to the person hired and the job description. Silber suggested that the time to discuss this issue is at budget time, and again in May. The Mayor said that each Department Head should make a case for the positions/wages they are requesting at budget time. Trustee McNeil asked if the appointments are currently working. The answer was yes. Trustee Collyer commented that also the internal relationships should be considered during this process. Mayor Lynn reported that Wayne Fleming has resigned as alternate member on the Z.B.A. The Mayor received a recommendation of Jim Bisogni, former Trustee to serve in the now vacant position. He asked Mr. Bisogni if he would take the position, and Mr. Bisogni agreed. Motion by Trustee Antil Seconded by Trustee McNeil Move to appoint Jim Bisogni as alternate member of the Zoning Board of Appeals. Trustees Antil, Collyer, McNeil and Mount voted YES. ************************************************************** Report of the Police Chief – Report was distributed and is on file. Chief Lansing reported that the 911 project is on the “back burner” at this time. The Sheriff wants to get a clear message across from the municipalities to the County Legislature that the various municipalities will not have to pay for the upgrades to the vehicles for the new communication system. The County will be asked by the 911 Page 3 of 6 Committee to pass a Resolution saying that. Mayor Lynn asked Chief Lansing to bring a copy of the Resolution to the Board when it is drafted. ************************************************************** Report of the Fire Superintendent – Report was distributed and is on file. Mayor Lynn commented that he attended the dedication of the new ladder truck and it was very nice, especially since the department received a lot of publicity for the occasion. ***************************************************************** Report of Working Supervisor – Report was distributed and is on file. Trustee Collyer asked what patch work had been done so far. Supv. Quick said that up to now, there had been hit or miss patching done; however, there is now a plan in place to begin the road work. A map was distributed which laid the plan out. The map showed the streets that will be patched, crack sealed and micro paved and explained the differences among the three methods of road repair. The Trustees are happy that this is now happening according to a plan. There is currently money in the budget for equipment replacement. We are planning to replace the existing backhoe with another one. A motion to advertise for bids for a backhoe and skid steer (“Bobcat”) was requested. Motion by Trustee Antil Seconded by Trustee McNeil Move to authorize the D.P.W. to advertise for a backhoe and a skid steer. Trustees Antil, Collyer, McNeil and Mount voted YES. Treasurer Silber suggested that the Village ask in the bid specification to have the vendor specify how much he will buy the existing equipment for. Supv. Quick wanted to put on the record that since Supt. Cross has been in the Village, the D.P.W. has always had good equipment to work with. This is due to the replacement schedule Supt. Cross has set in place for equipment. ********************************************************************* Report of the Supt. of Public Works – Supt. Cross presented to the Trustees his repair road plan for the next three seasons (copy attached to these minutes). There was discussion on the plan. Supt. Cross distributed a color coded map with the projected plans, which will be put on the Village’s website. Clerk Manning suggested that an enlarged copy should also be put on display in the Village Hall. Supt. Cross asked the Trustees that on any complaints on Village roads that they receive, ask the complainant be very specific as to nature of problem, location, etc. In this way, he can isolate the areas that are receiving the most complaints. A question was raised as to how the D.P.W. employees can do the road work while maintaining their present everyday work. Supt. Cross said that the Village D.P.W. will be used in a manner that will not tie them up for the whole project. In this way, they will also be able to maintain their steady workload throughout the Village. The Village will also use state contracts and state bids(unit pricing method). Trustee Mount asked if the contractor, Suite Coat has been asked to do the paving work shown on the plan for 2005 yet. Supt. Cross answered yes, and, in fact, they are prepared to get the job finished this year. The Mayor expressed his compliments on behalf of the Board for the well thought out plan that Supt. Cross and Supv. Quick is proposing. Page 4 of 6 At this point, the Mayor wished to report that he is deferring the issue of the Village Hall renovation until the August meeting. This extra time gives the Board time to look at how much we are going to spend on both the renovation and the roads before we come up with the figure to bond. It was pointed out that Supt. Cross feels that we can afford the road work currently being proposed as long as the Trustees keep the current budget money next year. Treasurer Silber commented on possible problems with unit prices talked about previously in relation to state contracts. There are no assurances on how the project will come in pricewise because of trouble with project coordination with unit prices. This has been a problem in the past; however, we have tried to become “smarter” with our instructions to bidders. The Mayor said that the Public Works Committee will need to address the Board as to what the Village will do and at what cost. Supt. Cross then reported on a request from a resident at 312 Cayuga Heights Road to have his zoning/building permit fee refunded. After the resident received the bids on his proposed project, he decided he could not afford the amount of money needed for the project. Supt. Cross reported that he had invested about an hour of time in the issuance of the permit. Since the Village has no formal policy on this type of request, there was much discussion on whether to refund, and if we did, how much of the fee should be refunded. The Treasurer suggested that the Village refund all but $100 of the cost of the permit to cover administrative costs. A motion to that effect was put on the floor by Trustee Antil. Trustee Collyer said that he would second the motion if the amount was changed to 50% of the cost. Trustee Antil then withdrew her motion. Trustee Collyer then put the following motion on the floor. Motion by Trustee Collyer Seconded by Trustee Antil Move to instruct the Village Clerk to issue a check in the amount of 50% of the fee paid for the zoning/building permit issued to Danyel Logevall of 312 Cayuga Heights Road for a project that has been abandoned Trustee McNeil asked what was the typical amount of time spent on this type of project. Supt. Cross answered one hour (so far). Mayor Lynn suggested that Trustee Collyer withdraw his motion. The Mayor will write a letter to Mr. Logevall telling him that the Board will determine a specific number to refund. Trustee Collyer withdrew his motion with the understanding the matter would be deferred to another meeting. Motion by Trustee Mount Seconded by Trustee Antil Move to table the request from Danyel Logevall for refund of his zoning/building permit fee due to the project being abandonded. Trustees Antil, Collyer, McNeil and Mount voted YES. ************************************************************************ Report of the Treasurer – Treasurer Silber presented his report. The Treasurer suggested that the Board increase the transaction limit on the Village Purchasing Card from $500/day to $1000/day and incorporate a daily limit per card of $2500. The monthly limit would remain unchanged. After discussion, the following motion was moved. Motion by Trustee Mount Seconded by Trustee McNeil Page 5 of 6 Move to increase the transaction limit on the Village Purchasing Card to $1000 per day with a daily limit per card of $2500. Trustees Antil, Collyer, McNeil and Mount voted YES. There were no transfers at this meeting. They will be presented after year-end closing. Treasurer Silber presented the Abstract of Vouchers. Motion by Trustee Collyer Seconded by Trtustee Antil Move to pass Resolution 6150 approving the Abstract of Audited Vouchers dated 7/18/05 in the amount of $180,199.79, and instruct that the Treasurer make payments thereon. Trustees Antil, Collyer, McNeil and Mount voted YES. ************************************************************************ Report of the Attorney – Attorney Tyler reported on the following: Regarding the Holdsworth Easement, Mr. Holdsworth suggested signing an agreement with the Village, not NYSEG, now that the job is completed (assuming the Village would agree to his additional indemnification language NYSEG had rejected). The Village will hold on this issue. Mr. Wasmuth, the gentlemen who had a limb from a Village tree fall and damage his garage this past December called and spoke to Attorney Tyler at length after receiving Counsel’s letter that the Trustees had denied his damage claim. Mr. Wasmuth then told Atty. Tyler that he was going to talk to the Justice. Nothing further has been heard on this matter. There is no new news on the Sr. Citizen’s request for a donation. Regarding sewer agreements with other municipalities, the billing method may change. All the municipalities will have the same basic contract only with small changes. Atty. Tyler, Mayor Lynn, Treasurer Silber and Supt. Cross will discuss the new contract wording. ************************************************************************ Report of the Clerk Clerk Manning reported that she was approached by a resident of the Spencer/VanEtten School District requesting to have a road rally in the Village to collect funds for their school sports program. It was determined that this was not appropriate for the Village to partake in, although sympathy was expressed for their “austerity budget”. ********************************************* Other Business Trustee Mount said that the next newsletter is planned for the end of October. She is open for all suggestions for Courier articles. Comments were made that the residents thoroughly enjoy receiving and read the Courier. Page 6 of 6 Mayor Lynn will be leaving town at the end of this meeting, returning following Tuesday night. The Deputy Mayor will be in town while the Mayor is gone. Motion by Trustee Antil Seconded by Trustee Collyer Move to adjourn at 9:30 pm Trustees Antil, Collyer, McNeil and Mount voted YES. Respectfully submitted, Norma R. Manning, Clerk