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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes of Regular Meeting November 21 2005-1.pdf 1 Minutes of Regular Meeting November 21, 2005 Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees Present: Mayor Lynn, Trustees Antil, Collyer, McClelland, McNeil, Mount, Staley, Atty. Tyler, Fire Supt. Tamborelle, Supervisor Quick, Supt. Cross, Clerk Manning, Treasurer Silber, Michelle Poppensiek. Absent: Police Chief Lansing Others Present: Dooley Kiefer At 7:00 pm Mayor Lynn opened the meeting and the Trustees, convened as the Planning Board, opened the continuation of the Public Hearing on the request by Verizon Wireless to erect a telecommunications tower in a Commercial District at 186 ½ Pleasant Grove Road. Mayor Lynn stated he was in the process of hiring a consultant on the project, so the public hearing has been postponed to the December meeting, when there is more information on the proposal available. The Hearing was adjourned for continuation on December 19th. The Mayor reported that VW has provided the Village of Cayuga Heights with a check for $5,000 to hire a consultant to research the plan and the options, as provided in the Village’s local law for wireless phone towers. Mayor Lynn discussed the candidates he had looked at to be the consultant on the project and explained why he had chosen William Johnson. He said that Mr. Johnson is the best choice because he is from the Rochester area, he knows the technical aspects of the proposal, and that he will be an independent reviewer of the plan (the height and technical aspects of the proposed tower). (The other candidates who responded were from the Albany, N.Y. and Washington D.C. areas, respectively.) There was some discussion of tower height and site location, which are both uncertain, and which Mayor Lynn included in his letter describing the issues to the consultant. Motion by Trustee McNeil Seconded by Trustee Antil Motion to authorize the Mayor to sign a contract with William P. Johnson as a consultant to review the Verizon Wireless/Cingular Wireless cell tower proposal. Trustees McNeil, Antil, Collyer, Mount, McClelland, Staley voted YES. 2 At 7:12 pm, the Trustees opened discussion on the issue of Local Law #1, which was passed at the last meeting. Atty. Tyler had since realized that there was already a local law #1 of 2005, so this law would have to be called Local Law #2 of 2005. This law deals with Veterans Exemptions and increases the real property tax exemption that veterans receive. There was some confusion as to the wording of the law; specifically the term “additional”. Several trustees were confused as to whether or not the word “additional” referred to an amount in addition to what the old law (1984) referred to, or whether it referred to the amounts listed under numbers one, two and three in the new law (see attached). Trustees McClelland and Mount asked for a numerical example to clear up confusion about how the local law will work, and Mayor Lynn explained how it would happen in real life. Atty. Tyler suggested changing the wording at the beginning of paragraphs starting with the numbers 2) and 3) to “In addition to the above amount, for those veterans…” in order to ease the confusion. Motion by Trustee Antil Seconded by Trustee Mount Motion to rescind previous Local Law #2 of 2005 (erroneously denominated previously as Local Law #1) passed last month with respect to granting tax exemptions to veterans as erroneously passed in October. Trustees McNeil. Antil, Collyer, Mount, McClelland and Staley voted YES. Motion by Trustee McNeil Seconded by Trustee Antil Move to approve Local Law # 2 of 2005 as corrected and attached. Trustees McNeil, Antil, Mount, McClelland, and Staley vote YES. Trustee Collyer Abstains. At 7:25 pm, the Planning Board continued with a Public Hearing to receive comments from the public on a request by Cingular Wireless to install telecommunications equipment on a tower (proposed by Verizon Wireless) in a Commercial District at 186 ½ Pleasant Grove Road (tax parcel 10-4-6.1). At 7:27 pm the Public Hearing on the Cingular Wireless Tower was also adjourned until there is a consultant present to answer people’s questions. To be reconvened December 19th. The next item on the agenda was the approval of the minutes from the meeting of October 17, 2005. The trustees brought up several small errors in the minutes; the needed corrections were noted (change “exit” to “North – bound only exit” on page 6 of 11 in minutes). This brought up the discussion of whether the Trustees believed Mr. Warren when he said that he will only put in the extra driveway/ exit if he really has to. Trustee Staley said that he was concerned about this because he feels we could be named in a lawsuit if accidents start happening at that intersection. 3 Atty. Tyler said that the resolution had been passed by the planning board and that the resolution expressly provided that Mr. Warren could proceed with putting in a driveway any time he wanted. Trustee Mount said that she agreed with Trustee Staley, and that she would not have voted for the approval if she thought Mr. Warren would be building a driveway there. She took him for his good word, and hopes that he will not put one in. Trustee McNeil stated that she felt Mr. Warren would be good to his word; that he has in the past been a good neighbor and that it would seem unlike him and not in good faith to lie or change his mind after assuring them that he did not intend to do it unless he had to. Mayor Lynn told Atty. Tyler that he feels he made a mistake, in not pressing for more of an assurance that he would not build the driveway. Atty. Tyler defended his recommendation to approve the amended plan; otherwise the board could be found arbitrary and capricious in a denial of the request by Mr. Warren. Atty. Tyler said that there was no basis on the record to support a denial and that neither the Chief of Police nor the Village Engineer had any opposition to the exit – only north driveway or saw it as a safety issue. He explained that the Planning Board could not stop action on the driveway just because they did not like the idea. Clerk Manning pointed out that Trustee Mount had mentioned her concerns at the last meeting and that they are on record. Mayor Lynn asked Engineer Cross to inform him and the Trustees if and when Mr. Warren comes to apply for a permit to build the additional driveway. After this discussion of the driveway issue, other corrections to the minutes were noted. Motion by Trustee McNeil Seconded by Trustee Antil Motion to approve the Minutes of the meeting of October 17, 2005, with several corrections as noted. Trustees Antil, Mount, McNeil, Collyer, McClelland, and Staley voted YES. ********************************************* Privilege of the Floor Dooley Kiefer had a question about the Cell Tower proposal. She asked whether we had asked Tompkins County Planning Department about their issues with cell phone towers, as they have recently faced the same issues that VCH is now facing. She wanted to know if we had made use of the knowledge that the county has in making up our ordinance on the cell tower proposal. The short answer, said Engineer Cross, is no we have not. ********************************************** Report of the Police Chief - It was noted by Clerk Manning that the Police Chief had asked to be excused from the meeting, and that he was not present. His report was distributed and is on file. ******************************************** 4 Report of the Fire Superintendent – Report was distributed and is on file. His crew has been training in the old Warren House, thanks to Bryan Warren, which is an amazing opportunity that they rarely ever get. Trustee Mount asked if she could take pictures of the training and Supt. Tamborelle said yes, of course. He also mentioned that some of the fire dept. members have been taking pictures and that he could provide her with a disk of them. The Supt. explained that he had some good news and some bad news. The good news was that he had received a call from the bank informing him that Mr. and Mrs. Hanselman, who passed away in 1993, had left money in a trust for the fire department. They had left it to another benefactor who passed away in October of this year, and now the money is going to come to the fire department. They donated a total of 2 million dollars,which was split up among four recipients. This turns out to be $14,000 a year in perpetuity for the fire department, which will be administered by the Tompkins Trust Company. The other ¾ of the money was given to both the Tompkins and Cortland County SPCA’s, and to GIAC, the Greater Ithaca Activities Center. Supt. Tamborelle was very excited because now they can replace the EMS truck using those funds, instead of tax funds. Attorney Tyler said that he would talk with the Trust Company and handle the matter, as the fire chief explained that he is not comfortable in handling these matters. Mr. Hanselman was both a member and the secretary of the Village of Cayuga Heights Fire Department for years. The second issue that Supt. Tamborelle raised was one of great concern to him as well as the Village Engineer, and the rest of the Village. When he looked up the date of the last Village- wide fire hydrant test, he found that the most recent test had been done in 1988. So, during the months of September and October, with the help of Bolton Point, the fire department tested all of the hydrants in the Village of Cayuga Heights. The tests were performed late at night so as not to disturb village residents with the water pressure drop and the traffic flow interruption from the trucks; the CHFD firefighters, along with the probationary members of the fire department conducted the tests. The Fire Supt. could not find any results from the 1988 tests, just that they were performed. Pictures taken inside some of the pipes (and passed around at the meeting), showed “tuberculation” and “sclerosis” of the pipes, which had decreased their usable size (inside diameter) considerably. With the help of Engineer Brent Cross, Fire Supt. Tamborelle showed two maps that he had created, showing the location and flow rate of each hydrant tested in the Village. The maps had different colored stars on them, showing the location of hydrants with acceptable and unacceptable flow rates. The blue stars indicated working hydrants with at least 1,000 gallons of flow per minute, while the yellow stars showed the location of hydrants with less than 1,000 gallons of flow per minute. Tamborelle noted that for a hydrant to fail the test it had to register less than 500 gallons per minute flow, and that some fire hydrants did not even register any flow. Engineer Cross and Supt. Tamborelle proceeded to explain their specific areas of concern and some initial ideas for dealing with the most serious problem areas. In certain areas, namely the “New Village” (North of Cayuga Heights Road), the hydrants are not working properly in several large areas, such that if there were to be a structure fire, there would be inadequate water to put it out effectively. Bolton Point suggests putting in new mains along Cayuga Heights Road and the Parkway, in order to bring more water into this area. These lines would be at least 8 inches in diameter and would be of steel exterior and cement interior construction. 5 Other worrisome areas such as the Overlook and Wycoff areas could be dealt with in an emergency using a steamer hydrant, which has huge volumes of water, or by using new, smaller hoses that the fire department just bought and which can be reverse attached to the truck. They can also draft water from ponds, as well as using the tanker system which Lansing is going to train them in shortly. Engineer Cross thanked Fire Supt. Tamborelle for his hard work and initiative in finding and mapping this important information. He agrees that it is a problem of concern and that a long term solution needs to be found. Water main replacement in the Village would be very expensive because of replacing sidewalks, landscaping, etc. He predicts it would cost between several hundreds of thousands of dollars to a million dollars to replace it all! Mr. Cross also mentioned that he was surprised at the orientation of the map; he would have expected the old part of the Village to be in worse shape than the new Village. He was also surprised that there was no transition between the good and bad hydrants, and therefore no explanation for what went wrong with the bad hydrants. Because of this, he feels that we may be able to find one or two problem points that are making several hydrants not function properly, such as a blocked pipe or line. Mr. Cross feels that many possible options should be explored and that we should not put a lot of money into any options until they are all looked into. Bolton Point also feels that before any solutions are attempted, that an engineering model should be created which would help to determine what action should be taken, or what other research is needed. David Herrick of TG Miller Engineering would be very interested in the project; they have done this type of water system modeling in the past for CU and the City of Ithaca, and he would be available immediately to help with the project. His work would include: more hydrant testing, more bypass testing, computer modeling of the problem, finding strategies to fix the problem, estimating costs of various solutions. Trustee McClelland had a question about whether the engineer from TG Miller would be able to foresee many possible problems that the system could have, and Mr. Cross answered yes, he has a lot of experience with the practical problems inherent in water systems and will be proactive in seeking them out. Engineer Cross is aware that they will have to start over at the beginning, testing water flow at each hydrant, in order to get a clear picture of the problem and to make sure that there are not simply problems with the valves. Atty. Tyler asked if the valves are the same ages as the pipes, and Treasurer Silber asked whether or not we had already tested the valves. He brought up the risks associated with testing (opening and closing) the valves, which could precipitate more problems. Mr. Cross answered that yes, it was dangerous to test the valves due to the risk of breakage. Trustee Staley asked what they were made of, and Mr. Cross answered that the stem was made of cast iron. The DPW could do some valve replacement. Mr. Cross says that the punch line is that the situation needs attention! We need to start working on this problem immediately, with an initial cost analysis of $10,000, leaving room for an increase in budget, not to exceed $20,000. Treasurer Silber reported that there was $47,500 in the capital fund to spend, and Mr. Cross suggested making a statement in a resolution about where the money will come from. Mr. Cross asked Atty. Tyler if they had to act immediately on the problem, now that they know about it, and Atty. Tyler answered yes, if not acted on now, it could become a liability issue. 6 Trustee Staley wants to know if there was ever a plan to get rid of the small, 2 inch diameter pipe. He also brought up the idea of using cameras to look for a clog in the pipes which could potentially be causing the malfunction in some of the hydrants. Trustee McNeil said that she thinks there needs to be a Village-wide plan, instead of just addressing problems one at a time. Trustee Staley agreed; they both feel we should be looking at the roads and sewers as well, at the same time. Mayor Lynn says that they are going to ask TG Miller to do that - to look at the whole system on a large scale, before narrowing the problem down any farther. Engineer Cross said that they have been proactive about videotaping the sewer pipes, and that they don’t see any problems in the near future. He mentioned that there is a new technology using trenchless piping, which will not save any money but will be much less disruptive than the conventional method. There needs to be 600 feet between each pipe, 300 ft in each direction. Engineer Cross asked if there were any more questions or whether they should vote. Motion by Trustee Collyer Seconded by Trustee McNeil MOTION TO APPROVE RESOLUTION 6165: TO AUTHORIZE THE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC WORKS TO ENGAGE T.G. MILLER ENGINEERS IN A STUDY OF THE VILLAGE WATER SYSTEM AND MAKE A RECOMMENDATION FOR REMEDIATION, FOR A SUM NOT TO EXCEED $20,000. Whereas, the Village FD and Bolton Point Water System have done hydrant testing which has resulted in an area of low fire flows, and Whereas, the Village Engineer, in conjunction with Bolton Point Water System, has determined that the water system requires further detailed investigation to determine the source of the low fire flow, and Whereas, T.G. Miller, PC is a local engineering firm with expertise and experience in performing such water system investigation and modeling, and now Therefore, the Village Board of Trustees hereby authorizes the T.G. Miller to perform an investigation of the water system and prepare a recommendation for remediation, and Therefore, T.G. Miller, PC will provide such services on an hourly basis not to exceed $20,000 with money taken from the water project of the Capital Funds. Trustees Antil, McNeil, McClelland, Staley Mount and Collier voted YES. Trustee McNeil again raised the point that she feels the Village of Cayuga Heights should be run more like a business where you have an approach of looking at the infrastructure, when doing the books. She pointed out that this years report shows depreciation of the Village on account. 7 Treasurer Silber described the accounting system in terms of what depreciation accounts for (how it is not “real” money being lost). The concept is that if you have to replace 5% of water mains, why not put those funds in the budget? If you don’t replace it, it builds on reserve. It is less of an accounting issue and more of an issue of storing reserves. If the money is sitting, it should have a specific purpose, or else it should just be sitting with tax payers. It can’t be considered as a slush fund or as a surplus. A reserve that requires referendums has greater latitude. Treasurer Silber said that paying for the study is not going to be an issue. He feels that the Village can pay the first $100,000 without additional resources. ************************************* Report of the Supervisor of Public Works – Ed Quick started out by saying that they had finished the paving projects this fall but that there had not been time to finish all of the micro paving. They will be doing it this spring, and we are near the top of the list for getting that done. He then brought up the subject of street lights… He said that when it is brought to the attention of the DPW, they tell the police dept. and they in turn tell NYSEG the pole number of the light that needs fixing. He wondered if there is a system for checking the lights, and mentioned that we pay a service to have the lights maintained. The police check the lights. Trustee McClelland asked a question about what he saw as confusing wording about leaf pickup in this months Courier. The article makes it sound like leaves will only be picked up in bags or containers after December 15th, when in reality they will pick them up off the road side without bags after that as well. Engineer Cross brought up the fact that Suit – Kote was very behind this year because of the very wet weather, and that they had just finished their paving. He said, as Mr. Quick had, that there would not be enough time for micro paving until the spring, leaving a few places unsafe for traffic. On Remington Road, there is a dangerous situation due to a lack of guardrails and the proximity of the road to the gorge. The railroad tie rails that had been in place were not safe anyway (they were rotted through), so they were removed during the construction. The guardrail that they want to replace it with is very expensive, but they need to get it installed before winter. He wondered if he should go to a vendor, because it will be a quantity such that it exceeds bidding limits. Mr. Quick said that he was hoping to eliminate the two inch section first. They got started today and hope to get it in before the asphalt plants close. They will patch the holes with hot asphalt for now, and finish the job in the spring. **************************************** Report of the Supt. of Public Works - There was an inspection by the DEC of our plant, looking at the collection system, industrial waste, personnel, permits, etc. The DEC inspector’s one sentence report said, “I have inspected the Village of Cayuga Heights Waste Water Treatment Plant with Yaws’ Jerry Smith, and I have found that the WWTP is operating well.” In a continuation of a discussion on the WWTP, the Village is waiting for the bond act money for the Trickling Filter project, which is complete. There is a second project, the phosphorous removal project which was awarded a grant for phosphorous filtration. 85% of the construction cost was offered to us, up to 1.5 Million dollars. (There was some 8 question as to whether the 85% meant up to 1.5 million total that they would pay, or 85% of a total of 1.5 million that they would pay). They recommend using a sand – filter process, while Yaws Environmental prefers a cloth media technology, which is less established. Trustee Staley wanted to know whether the sand would be in a vacuum or a sprayer, and Mr. Cross said that it would be done by hydraulic pressure. Mr. Cross wants to proceed to get a contract with the DEC, and if they do what they say they will, they will give us the money needed to fund the project. Mr. Cross and Mayor Lynn will go to Syracuse and look at the material themselves. *********************************** Report of the Treasurer - Mr. Silber said that all went well with the audit. He asked the Board to approve a list of overtime transfers he had made, explaining that he had created overtime accounts to parallel the straight accounts. Motion by Trustee McNeil Seconded by Trustee Antil Move to approve Resolution 6166 to approve transfers dated 11/21/05 as listed below: Trustees Antil, McNeil, McClelland, Staley, Mount, Collyer voted YES. Motion by Trustee McNeil Seconded by Trustee Antil Move to approve Resolution 6167 approving Abstract of Vouchers dated 11/21/05 in the amount of $272,788.65 and instruct that the Treasurer make payments thereon. Trustees Antil, McNeil, McClelland, Staley, Mount, Collyer voted YES. A check for $5,000 from Verizon Wireless was deposited in the checking account (Trust and Agency account), to be spent on the consultant, when billed. **************************************** Attorney’s Report 9 Atty. Tyler distributed a memo on the Wilkinson Estate. Atty. Tyler said that the appellate briefs were due one week ago, but that the court postponed the deadline until February 8th. They are hoping for a settlement. Mr. Crossmore is making application to the Village of Lansing Planning Board. Part of the property will not be developed, but remain “recreational land” It is a high expense to build a road down the steep portion of the property to the lake. There was a discussion about what the plaintiff (Mr. Crossmore) wanted to do with this land if he was allowed to build a road down to the lake on it. Mr. Crossmore talked last summer about building residential subdivisions on the property. It was believed that he would be developing less than 20 lots on the property, with large, 5 acre lots (similar to Lake Watch estates). Barbara McGinn, a representative of True, Walsh and Miller, estimated than an appeal of the case would cost $10,000. The appeal would be argued in Albany, and the legal cost would be less than the trial. The appeal date is set for February 8th, 2006. Mayor Lynn feels that it is not effective to keep calling all of the defendants together, that the municipalities will not be able to agree with each other. Atty. Tyler said that the meeting of all parties is a charade because while it makes the plaintiff say where they are, the judge is not concerned about that. Mr. Crossmore wants to put a road and sewer system down to his property by the lake. If he wins the court battle, the Village of Cayuga Heights will have to pay its share for the road and sewer to be built down there. Treasurer Silber advised that Bolton Point not promise to build a road down there, that it would be expensive later. The discussion turned to the topic of the new Medicare Prescription Drug Plan, and whether or not it was better for the Village of Cayuga Heights retirees than their current insurance plans. Treasurer Silber explained that because of group size, employers who offer retirees health insurance can collect money from the government to offset costs. If it’s a smaller employer, like the Village of Cayuga Heights, we don’t get the money, Blue Cross Blue Shield gets the money, and then they keep their rates down. Therefore, Treasurer Silber recommends that retirees stay with the Village’s plan (they can buy part D, but it does not benefit them). Trustee Mount has made up a pamphlet about the Village of Cayuga Heights municipality. The board would like some suggestions about what to do with it, besides submitting it to the Chamber of Commerce for a publication they are putting out. It was suggested it could be put out upstairs in the Clerk’s office for residents to take, as many residents have expressed interest in learning more about the history and story of the Village. Lastly, the Village is about to celebrate its 90th anniversary! ************************************** Report of the Clerk Clerk Manning asked approval from the Board to send the list of upaid taxes as of November 1, 2005 to the County for relevy. Motion by Trustee Antil Seconded by Trustee Mount 10 Motion to pass Resolution 6168 authorizing the Clerk to submit to the County the list of unpaid taxes as of November 1, 2005. Trustees Antil, McNeil, McClelland, Staley, Mount, Collyer voted YES. Clerk Manning explained that the date of the Organizational Meeting was incorrectly noted in the minutes in April and June of this year. She asked for a motion to correct these incorrect dates. Motion by Trustee Mount Seconded by Trustee Collyer Motion to correct the date of the Organizational Meeting from April 12 to April 11 as referenced in both the April 2005 and June 2005 minutes. Trustees Antil, McNeil, McClelland, Staley, Mount, Collyer voted YES. Clerk Manning then introduced Michelle Poppensiek to the Board. Michelle is temporarily working in the Clerk’s office and was present at this meeting to observe. The Board extended their welcome to Michelle. Motion by Trustee Antil Seconded by Trustee Collyer Motion to enter into Executive Session to consult with the Attorney and discuss the Deputy Clerk position at 9:23 p.m. Trustees Antil, McNeil, McClelland, Staley, Mount, Collyer voted YES. Motion by Trustee Antil Seconded by Trustee Collyer ************************************* Motion by Trustee Antil Seconded by Trustee Mount Motion to move out of Executive Session at 10: 05 p.m. Trustees Antil, McNeil, McClelland, Staley, Mount, Collyer voted YES ********************************* Motion by Trustee McClelland Seconded by Trustee Staley Move to pass Resolution 6169 authorizing the Mayor to fill the Deputy Clerk position which is now vacant at a rate of $19.50/hour. 11 Trustees Antil, McNeil, McClelland, Staley, Mount, Collyer voted YES Motion by Trustee Antil Move to adjourn meeting at 10:07 p.m. Trustees Antil, McNeil, McClelland, Staley, Mount, Collyer voted YES Respectfully submitted, Norma Manning,Clerk