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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes of the Regular Meeting May 21, 2007.pdf 1 Minutes of the Board of Trustees May 21, 2007 Village of Cayuga Heights Meeting of the Board of Trustees Present: Mayor Lynn, Trustees Antil, Bisogni, Collyer, Kaplan, Mount, Staley, Treasurer Silber, Police Chief Lansing, Sgt. Boyce, Supt. Cross, Asst. Supt. Frisbie, Judge Glenn Galbreath, Attorney Tyler, Absent: Fire Supt. Tamborelle At 7:00 P.M. Mayor Lynn opened the May meeting of the Board of Trustees. The April minutes were presented and discussed. Some corrections were made. Motion by Trustee Bisogni Seconded by Trustee Staley Move to approve the Minutes of April 9, 2007 with corrections as discussed. Trustees Bisogni, Collyer, Kaplan, Mount and Staley voted YES. Trustee Antil ABSTAINED. The Minutes of April 30, 2007 were presented for approval. Motion by Trustee Bisogni Seconded by Trustee Antil Move to approve the Minutes of April 30, 2007. Trustees Antil, Bisogni, Collyer, Kaplan, Mount and Staley voted YES. *********************************************************************** Privilege of the Floor – No one wished to speak at the Privilege of the Floor. *********************************************************************** Mayor Lynn introduced Judge Galbreath, who was present to give an overview of the past year in the Justice Court. His annual report has been distributed previously. The Judge invited the Board to attend Court any time to see how proceedings are handled. One of the big changes that have occurred is that now all court proceedings are being recorded by the Court Clerk. It is not a requirement, but the Clerk is now recording everything. The tapes are not, however, currently being transcribed. There continues to be much more court system paperwork generated….everything is more involved now than it was before. Mayor Lynn passed on the appreciation of the Board for all the hard work that is being accomplished in the Justice Court of the Village of Cayuga Heights. *********************************************************************** Report of the Mayor – Mayor Lynn reported on the memo from Paula Bensadoun, our representative to Cayuga Medical Center, on the Center’s Corporate Board Meeting held on April 24. A copy of Paula’s memo was included in the packet sent to the Board. 2 Molly Shoemaker, representative to the University Neighborhood Council, would like to find an alternate to the Council. Trustee Mount will put something in the next Courier on this subject. Dave Riehlman of the DEC will attend the June 18 Board Meeting speaking to the Trustees about the possibilities that are available to the Village regarding deer overpopulation. Lynnette Chappell-Williams (A Labor Specialist at Cornell) will present two seminars (June 19 and July 20), on diversity and bias issues to the employees of the Village at 10:30 am in the Village hall. All employees are encouraged to attend. The Council of Governments received a $200,000 grant from the Department of State to investigate health care issues. *********************************************************************** Report of the Police Chief – Chief Lansing presented his report, which was distributed and is on file. Part-time Police Officer Rich Curtiss has resigned his position with the Village effective May 31, 2007. Chief Lansing would like to fill the position immediately. He has someone in mind that would be perfect for the position. The Board authorized the Chief to proceed to fill the open position. The Chief also reported that the new radios needed for the new 911 System will be purchased for the Village by the County. Chief Lansing asked the Board to approve the following resolution to approve the purchase of a 2007 Dodge Durango. Motion by Trustee Collyer Seconded by Trustee Bisogni Motion to pass Resolution 6263 as follows: Whereas it has always been up to the discretion of the Chief of Police to purchase vehicles on a timely basis as to avoid high mileage which contributes to high maintenance costs, and Whereas the current vehicle #125, a 2006 Dodge Durango, has been in service since April 2006; Therefore the Board of Trustees authorizes the Chief of Police to place an order for a 2007 Dodge Durango at a cost of $21,200.25 from the New York State Contract. This vehicle will be delivered after June 1, 2007. Trustees Antil, Collyer, Kaplan, Mount and Staley voted YES. One of the vehicles presently in use will be sold. It will be determined which one that will be at a later date. *********************************************************************** Report of the Fire Supt. - Supt. Tamborelle was absent. His report was distributed and is on file. 3 *********************************************************************** Ass’t. Supt. of Public Works - Ass’t. Supt. Frisbie’s report was distributed and is on file. A resolution was presented to the Trustees asking the Board’s permission to hire two individuals to fill the open MEO positions. After advertising the positions, 22 applications were received, 17 qualified, and they were narrowed down to 5 individuals to be interviewed. Those 5 were narrowed down to 2, and Ass’t. Supt. Frisbie would like to hire Daniel Potter and Glenn Barrows. Motion by Trustee Staley Seconded by Trustee Antil Motion to pass Resolution 6264 as follows: Whereas upon the departure of Albert Cooper and Jeffrey Wood, the Department of Public Works was left with two vacant Motor Equipment Operator (MEO) positions that needed to be filled; The positions were posted, advertised and applications were accepted; Interviews were conducted by the Supt. and Ass’t. Supt. of Public Works; Therefore, be it resolved, that the Board of Trustees approve the hiring of Daniel Potter, effective April 16 at a rate of $14.61/hour and Glen Barrows, effective May 7 at a rate of $14.61/hour. Trustees Antil, Bisogni, Collyer, Kaplan, Mount and Staley voted YES. Ass’t. Supt. Frisbie then asked the Board to approve the promotion of David Snyder from MEO to Sr. MEO, a position that was opened due to change in status of an existing employee. Motion by Trustee Antil Seconded by Trustee Staley Motion to pass Resolution 6265 as follows: Whereas the Department of Public Works has a vacant Senior Motor Equipment Operator (MEO) position open due to the change in status of Ralph Newhart; and David Snyder has been employed with the Village of Cayuga Heights as an MEO since June of 1998, Therefore, be it resolved that David Snyder be promoted to the position of Senior MEO effective May 22, 2007 at the rate of $18.63/hour, with an increase on June 1, 2007 to the “after one year” rate of $19.68/hour. Trustees Antil, Bisogni, Collyer, Kaplan, Mount and Staley voted YES. The updated brush/leaf policy was discussed at length. A draft of the updated policy was distributed and the Trustees gave their input. Trustee Kaplan would like on the back of the 4 policy statement sheet some suggestions on what the public can do with the items that will not be picked up by the D.P.W., i.e. grass clippings, plants, dead flowers, soil. Clerk Manning will obtain a list and print it on the back of the policy. After much discussion and minor changes, the Trustees voted to include the updated policy with the tax bills (which also includes the new Village brochure). Motion by Trustee Antil Seconded by Trustee Staley Move to send the Updated Brush/Leaf Policies with the 2007 Cayuga Heights Village tax bill which will be mailed on May 31, 2007. Trustees Antil, Collyer, Kaplan and Staley voted YES. Trustee Mount ABSTAINED. Trustee Bisogni was ABSENT at the time of the vote. *********************************************************************** Report of the Supt. of Public Works – The finalization of the Site Plan Review Process for the Cornell Child Care Center was next on the agenda. The Planning Board completed the SEQR process on April 30. Supt. Cross received comments from the Town regarding a fence that has been added to the site plan (unregulated in the Village of Cayuga Heights). The Town has requested details on the proposed fence. The Town Planning Board approved the project and the Village is the last and final action for the project. The Board, acting as the Planning Board, entertained the following motion: Motion by Trustee Mount Seconded by Trustee Collyer Move to pass Resolution 6266: Planning Board Approval of the Site Plan for the Cornell Child Care Center, Pleasant Grove Road Whereas, Cornell University has applied for a permit to construct a child care center for 158 children on the vacant land just north of the A-lot, on Pleasant Grove Road, and Whereas, such application is subject to Site Plan Review by the Village Planning Board, and Whereas, the applicant has submitted the necessary documentation for consideration of Site Plan Review, and Whereas, the Village Planning board has duly conducted a public hearing to collect comments on the potential environmental impacts of this project, and subsequently on April 30, 2007 issued by resolution a negative declaration of no significant impacts as required by NYCRR617.5. Such SEQRA review was coordinated with the Town of Ithaca, since a small corner of the lot is located in their jurisdiction, and Whereas, the Town of Ithaca has previously approved the Site Plan and Special Permit for this project, and 5 Now, therefore, the Village of Cayuga Heights Planning Board hereby determines that this project is in compliance with the “health, safety, and general welfare of the community”, and Therefore, the Planning Board approves the Site Plan for this project and authorizes the Zoning Officer to issue a permit for construction of the project. Trustees Antil, Collyer, Kaplan, Mount and Staley voted YES. The Stormwater Management Annual Report was presented to the Clerk and will be available for inspection in the Clerk’s office. The Town of Ithaca was very helpful and supportive in preparing the document. T.G. Miller has presented a proposal to do an environmental compliance site assessment at the DPW site on Sheldon Road. This will be put into the budget. The EPA could inspect various DPW sites to perform cursory inspections. Supt. Cross reported that in 1986, a Uniform Fire Protection Law was passed giving funds to municipalities for code enforcement. In 1992, Governor Cuomo absorbed those funds into the general fund. Bill 54G (the bill proposed to get the money back from the general fund to the municipalities for code enforcement) is now in both the Senate and Assembly. The Code Enforcement Community has been pushed to write letters of support. Supt. Cross has letters for the Board to sign to show their support for the Bill. New codes are being proposed, one of which requires all new single family homes to have a sprinkler system installed. Supt. Cross will speak on that subject tomorrow at a conference in Rochester. *********************************************************************** Report of the Treasurer – Motion by Trustee Antil Seconded by Trustee Collyer Motion to pass Resolution 6267 approving the transfers dated 3/19/07 as listed below: Trustees Antil, Collyer, Kaplan, Mount and Staley and voted YES. 6 Approval of Abstracts Motion by Trustee Kaplan Seconded by Trustee Antil Motion to pass Resolution 6268 approving the Abstract of Audited Vouchers dated 5/21/07 in the amount of $237,507.15, and instruct that the Treasurer make payments thereon. Trustees Antil, Collyer, Kaplan, Mount and Staley and voted YES. The Treasurer reminded department heads that the budget year ends in 10 days, on May 31. *********************************************************************** Report of the Attorney – Trustee Bisogni, Ed Hooks, Atty. Tyler and Supt. Cross met at Mrs. Wadach’s house regarding the Wadach Sewer Line exposure issue. Supt. Cross will draft a proposal for Mrs. Wadach. The Council of Governments is requesting a standard shared equipment agreement for D.P.W. equipment which Atty. Tyler has been reviewing and commenting on. Warren Real Estate would like to open the second driveway. Atty. Tyler has written a letter stating changes that have occurred since the original approval. Mayor Lynn received a phone call from Jim Warren, who wants to have a teleconference with the Mayor and Supt. Cross. Phosphorous Treatment Project – Supt. Cross received a phone call from the DEC stating that they were almost ready to issue a modified consent order but were waiting for information from Stearns & Wheler about their piping modification. On Friday, a copy of the letter from Stearns & Wheler was delivered with modifications. No action yet on the Fire Contract with the Town of Ithaca. The Village currently has an extension in place. Verizon claim – Discovery hearing on June 5 at the Village Hall. ZBA Training – Council of Governments is looking into this subject. *********************************************************************** Report of the Clerk – No report. *********************************************************************** Trustee Mount stated that the next issue of The Courier is scheduled for early June. Motion by Trustee Antil Seconded by Trustee Kaplan Move to adjourn meeting at 9:45 PM. Trustees Antil, Collyer, Kaplan, Mount and Staley and voted YES. 7