HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes of the Regular Meeting-a August 18, 2008.doc-Laserfiche.pdf Minutes of the Board of Trustees August 18, 2008
Village of Cayuga Heights
Meeting of the Board of Trustees
Held at the Cayuga Heights Fire Station
Present: Mayor Gilmore, Bors, Collyer, Donner, Riesman, and Staley; Supt. Cross,Ass't
Supt. Frisbie, Chief Boyce, Fire Supt. Tamborelle,Treasurer Silber, Clerk Manning, and
Attorney Kim Rothman(Miller Mayer)
Absent: Trustee Antil
Others: Mindy Mindlin, Linda Bors, Elizabeth Mount, Sally Grubb, Anita Watkins, Sarah
Hatcher,Peter Stein, Dooley Kiefer
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Mayor Gilmore called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM and asked the Board to approve the
minutes of July 16, 2008.
Motion by Trustee Donner
Seconded by Trustee Collyer
Move to pass Resolution 6373 approving the minutes of July 16, 2008 with corrections
as noted.
Mayor Gilmore, Trustees Bors,Collyer,Donner,Riesman and Staley voted YES.
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Privilege of the Floor—Peter Stein, a member of the Town Board of Ithaca for the past 5
years, spoke on how the Village and Town can work together. He said that there are a large
number of governments governing all of Tompkins County. The governments are working
independent of each other and should all be working together as a resident of one
municipality can be directly affected by what another municipality does. He cited the
instance where someone who lives in the Town of Ithaca may walk through Cayuga
Heights to go to work at Cornell. How Cayuga Heights maintains its roads and sidewalks
directly affects this individual, even though the individual does not live in Cayuga Heights.
With this in mind, the Town Board, on a rotating basis, goes to other municipalities to talk
and listen to their governments keeping everyone involved. With the small municipalities
in the Town, their closest relationship is with the Town Board. Herb Engman, Supervisor
of the Town of Ithaca, is finding a mechanism to share ideas with its municipalities. Peter
asked the Village how they would like to share ideas with the Town. The Town is in the
process of doing their comprehensive plan, which is done every 20 years. The Village of
Cayuga Heights always comes up as a subject, but the Village is not part of the Town's
comprehensive plan. The Town is creating a survey to ask what the people want out of
local government and is sending it to the municipalities. Does the Village want to
participate in this survey? Do we want to have input in the survey? Do we really need
three governments to govern this area? Are the three governments suitable now? Would
one work just as well? This idea is referred to as "consolidation". The Village of Cayuga
Heights is not part of the group currently studying this issue because the former Mayor did
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not want to be a part of the group. Now that the Village has a new administration, does it
want to be a part of this group? There needs to be a closer relationship between governing
bodies. Trustee Riesman asked what is the timeframe for the survey. Does the Village
have the time to prepare our own questions? Peter said that he gave Mayor Gilmore a copy
of the survey and it is constantly changing. If the Village wants to participate,the Mayor
should contact Herb Engman. Supt. Cross commented that the Village staff has an
extremely good relationship with the Town of Ithaca staff. He also wanted to clarify that
the Village of Cayuga Heights has chosen to stay out of the Town's comprehensive plan
due to the fact that the Village is build out...there is no new plan for development.
The Mayor thanked Peter Stein for coming to the Board Meeting and told Trustee Riesman
that he will forward a copy of the survey to her to look at. Trustee Staley said that the
Mayor should forward a copy to all of the Trustees. Mayor Gilmore said he would.
Elizabeth Mount reported that because of the Triphammer and Upland Road construction,
TCAT Bus#30 has been re-routed through Northway Road.
A letter was distributed prior to the meeting by Trustee Donner, Chairman of the Deer
Committee regarding the formation of the Deer Committee and its proposal. A copy of
this letter is attached to these minutes. E. Mount commented that deer culling is going to
be very controversial. She was concerned that the Committee was pre-picked, and an
answer to the deer problem was already decided. S. Grubb said that before the decision is
made to cull the deer, the Village needs much input from the residents. More community
members are needed on the Committee. She doesn't want anyone shooting on her
property. The village needs to work with other municipalities on this problem. We can
not solve this big problem by ourselves.
Mayor Gilmore said that the Committee will listen to the comments made and consider
them.
No one else wished to speak at the Privilege of the Floor.
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Report of the Fire Supt.—Supt. Tamborelle presented his report,which is on file. It was
a busy month for the department. There was a fire on Warren Road. Response was
excellent and all went well.
The Fire Department Open House is scheduled for October 4, which is the beginning of
Fire Prevention Week. The CHPD will be there, along with various other local police and
fire agencies.
The station gym floor project is complete. The total cost is under$4000, and was paid for
by the proceeds of the Community Yard Sale.
The Department recruit drive is underway.
Report of the Mayor—Mayor Gilmore performed a marriage ceremony the previous
week. He said that it was one of the most pleasant aspects of his job so far.
Planning Board Committee Meetings—
Chemung Canal Trust Company Bank Building—project is underway
Olver Building—approval of site plan review has been given
Macenas Sub-division—under legal review by attorneys—stalled at this point.
Thanks to Sarah Hatcher and her Courier team. The cost came in at$921 for the last issue.
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Legal Counsel for the Village was decided last month—Barney, Grossman Dubow&
Marcus. The Mayor gave an overview of the process that he, Trustee Donner and Trustee
Bors conducted. The law firm will begin with the Village on September 1. Trustee Bors
suggested that they will work on a per hour basis rather than on a retainer. We will see
how that goes. Trustee Riesman asked if we could opt out of that part of the agreement at
anytime. Mayor Gilmore thought that we could. Miller Mayer will still be the Village
Counsel for labor matters.
A mutual agreement was reached on the PBA contract negotiations. This mutual
agreement is subject to final review by both parties.
Regarding bike lanes on Pleasant Grove Road, Cornell University will not give funds for
another 4 years. The road was re-built now to allow for easier passage of bicycles.
The Marcham Hall wood staining is almost complete. The roof is in need of repair and we
are awaiting more bids. There is a temporary fix on the leak in the Court Room.
The Clerk will speak on the Marcham Hall capital improvement.
The Mayor asked Attorney Kim Rothman spoke on the re-wording of the fence ordinance.
There will be steps to take if the fencing ordinance needs to be changed. The Village
would have to pass a local law to change the building code enforcement law. However,
amending the zoning ordinance is more laborious. All surrounding municipalities have to
be notified and a SEQR has to be performed. An abstract also would have to be published.
If the Village decides to do this,re-wording of the fence ordinance will be circulated to the
Trustees for their approval. Supt. Cross commented that language revision would make it
easier to avoid conflicts. We need to make it clear that a permit is required for any fence to
be built, and this may be the time to change the physical features of the law. The present
law is vaguely written.
S. Grubb asked how the public would know how the law is rewritten. The answer is that a
public hearing would have to be approved and a time set up at a Board Meeting,the
proposed law and date/time of the public hearing would have to advertise in the
newspaper, and everything would also be put on the website. Attorney Rothman
suggested that the actual wording as she has drafted it should be distributed to the Trustees
and discussed at the September Board Meeting.
Mayor Gilmore presented his"tree policy"to the Trustees and the public. A copy of this
policy is attached to these minutes.
At this time,Trustee Donner, Chairman of the Deer Committee, read aloud the"Deer
Committee Announcement". Trustee Riesman commented on the final paragraph. It states
that"if a majority of Trustees support the plan we will share the specifics with village
residents asking for their support." She feels that this is putting the"cart before the horse."
There needs to be public discussion BEFORE the Trustees vote on the program. It was
suggested that a letter be sent to the public with Trustee affirmation that culling is the way
to handle the deer remediation. S. Grubb asked if the Committee has had a meeting. She
stated that if they did, it was illegal as it was not published and open to the public.
Attorney Rothman was asked if this was correct and she stated that she was not prepared to
answer that question. S. Grubb stated that the Mayor/Committee was acting unethical and
inappropriate by having meetings without the public knowing about them. Treasurer
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Silber said that everyone should wait for Counsel to weigh in on this issue. He also said
that any plan needs to be documented and vented through Counsel and our insurance
company. The Village is seeking a zero risk and we need to take appropriate legal and
insurance steps. Trustee Donner stated that there is time for all this as nothing will be done
right away.
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Report of the Clerk—Clerk Manning reported that Deputy Clerk Neff would like to
attend the NYCOM Fall Training School in Lake Placid held in September. Clerk
Manning attended last year. This yearly event is a perfect opportunity for ongoing training
on continuing and new aspects of the Clerk and Deputy Clerk's jobs. Typically, the Clerk
and Deputy Clerk each take a turn going to this school. Clerk Manning asked the Board
for a resolution approving Deputy Clerk Neff to attend this year.
Motion by Trustee Staley
Seconded by Trustee Bors
Motion to pass Resolution 6374 approving Deputy Clerk Neff to attend the NYCOM
Fall Training School in Lake Placid,NY September 15-19,2008.
Mayor Gilmore,Trustees Bors, Collyer,Donner,Riesman and Staley voted YES.
In April 2006,the Space Committee, which was chaired by Clerk Manning,presented its
findings to the Board of Trustees,presenting two possible solutions which included the
most important item of making the Village Hall handicap accessible. At the request of
Trustee Antil,the Mayor, Brent and the Clerk will review and discuss the Marcham Hall
plans presented by the Space Committee which met from 2004-2006
In July, Image Integrators installed the Optical Character Recognition software, which was
purchased in June, onto the server. Police Clerk Eaton, Deputy Clerk Neff and the Clerk
were trained on the software. Clerk Manning is in the process of downloading the minutes
dating back to 1923 into the system.
Requests by S. Grubb and M. Mindlin regarding information being put on the website was
then discussed. After discussion with Trustee Riesman, it was decided that the only Board
meeting information that would routinely be put on the website was the agenda and the
approved Board minutes. Any other information that pertains to the Board meetings would
be available in the Clerk's office after noon on the Thursday before the Monday meeting.
Any member of the public is welcome to come in and view the information.
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Ass't. Supt of Public Works—Ass't. Frisbie presented his report. The crew has been
doing a lot of patching throughout the Village, along with cutting brush back from signs
and striping crosswalks and stop lines. The Winthrop Road project was also completed in
July. Preparation was underway for the Pleasant Grove Road capital project. Last week,
the PGR road project was started and was completed on August 18. The project went very
well. Jeff Ellis was in charge of the project when Ass't. Frisbie wasn't available. The
shoulder on the west side of the road needed to be reconstructed and strengthened. The
DPW paved 26 ft. of the road leaving a 3 ft. shoulder for bikes (unofficial bike lane). An
officer from the CHPD manned the intersection of PGR and Hanshaw Road for 4 days
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while that part of the road was being worked on. Trustee Staley complimented the DPW
for the good job that was done, as well as the good coordination with all the other
departments in the Village. Supt. Cross also complimented the DPW crew; in fact, Suit
Cote Paving complimented the crew to Supt. Cross. This project is only the third time a
road had to be completely shut down in the Village for construction. Supt. Cross echoed
that the police presence definitely helped with the project. Trustee Riesman commented
that the DPW has been very quick and responsive and she is pleased with what she has
seen. The Mayor asked if the cost of asphalt went up, raising the cost of the project. Ass't.
Supt. Frisbie said yes,there was an escalation charge from June to August.
Supt. Frisbie asked the Board to pass a resolution for equipment(1 ton truck, a plow and a
2 yard stainless steel salt spreader)to go to the Teitsworth Auction on September 13.
Teitsworth has a formal advertisement for municipalities. Our John Deere 320 bucket
loader(skid steer)will be sent to the Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Motion by Trustee Donner
Seconded by Trustee Staley
Motion to pass Resolution 6375 approving the sale of the following equipment to go
to the Teitsworth Auction on September 13:
2003—Ford F3501 ton truck
Western Plow
2 Yard Stainless Steel Salt Spreader
Also acknowledge that the Village's John Deere 320 Bucket Loader(Skid Steer)will
be sent to the Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Mayor Gilmore,Trustees Bors, Collyer,Donner,Riesman and Staley voted YES.
At this time, Ass't. Supt. Frisbie introduced Mechanic Jeff Ellis, who gave a brief
overview of the kind of work he does on Village vehicles to save money. J.Ellis
introduced himself as a 20 year employee with the Village of Cayuga Heights, having
come up through the ranks in the D.P.W. first as a Laborer and now the Mechanic. He
states that he saves the Village 50%from what we would be paying if we sent our fleet of
vehicles out for their work. The question was asked how Jeff keeps track of the service.
He answered that each vehicle has a log and a file where work performed is noted.
Regarding the new wheel balancer,Jeff explained that the Village had an obsolete one and
having gotten rid of that,purchased a"Snap On Balancer". It costs the Village
approximately $9/tire through NYS bid process. With this piece of equipment in place, the
cars do not have to leave the Village. Jeff Ellis is available 24 hours/day, so if a car has
problems any time,Jeff can be contacted. There is also an inventory of parts at the DPW
garage kept for most of the vehicles.
Ass't. Supt.Frisbie would like to coordinate a time when the Trustees can go to the DPW
to see how things work there. Trustee Staley said that the DPW and the way it works
could also be a good article for The Courier.
An employee hurt his hand on the job site (Pleasant Grove Road). He went to the hospital
where he had minor surgery and is back to work.
Supt. of Public Works—Supt. Cross gave progress reports on the following:
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NYSEG road work on E. Upland Road—there is still an estimated 2 weeks of work left to
do. The portion of E. Upland Road between Hanshaw and Triphamamer Roads will be
open with one lane to local traffic and emergency vehicles.
The Chemung Canal Bank Building construction is underway and making good progress.
Regarding the status of the petroleum contamination, as required by the Planning Board,
Tim Ciaschi had an Environmental Firm investigator on site during the excavation of
footers. Some contamination was detected and the D.E.C. required all the material be set
aside for transport to a landfill site in Auburn. The Environmental Firm will give a report
to Supt. Cross. There will be a passive venting system installed in the cement slap(?)to
insure that any gasses that may migrate up be vented. Supt. Cross has more details on that
if anyone wants to see them.
There is a house being built by Petru Petrina on Triphammer Road that has caused much
controversy and has taken up quite a bit of Supt. Cross's time. The homeowner is also the
contractor from a different country. His craftsmanship, which is visible to the public, is
different from what we are normally accustomed to, i.e. form work for the concrete wall in
the basement were hand built,the walls are the 8' required height,but the walls are not
straight. Complaints were received by Supt. Cross by the neighbors. Supt. Cross visited
the site with the architect and listed the topics of concern. They are presently being
addressed. Supt. Cross told the owner that without the architect involved, he may not be
able to get a Certificate of Occupancy. Supt. Cross feels that Mr. Petrina is on a course to
complete his project successfully. Trustee Bors asked if the Village has a liability. Supt.
Cross suspects given today's litigious society if a future owner tried to make a claim
against Mr. Petrina,the Village could possibly be named in the suit. Atty. Rothman stated
that the courts have traditionally set a high standard for municipal liability and that it
would take a willful act of negligence to be held liable.
Sewage Treatment Upgrade Project—The contracts were approved at the July Board
meeting and the contracts have arrived at the Village Clerk's office. They have been
signed by the Mayor.
Sewage Treatment Plant—Yaws Contract Renewal—The Village has been working with
Yaws for a long time, having worked under a contract with Yaws using a basic agreement
with a 34e ewal. Traditionally, Yaws has asked for a 3%increase in their compensation.
Next month, Supt. Cross will ask for a resolution giving the Mayor authorization to sign
the contract. Supt. Cross will spend time with any Trustee who would like to go over the
contract.
Miscellaneous—
The Planning Board finalized the SEQR review process for Neil Olver's building
on the corner of Hanshaw Road and E. Upland Road. The site plan review has a few
conditions. Now that N. Olver has an approval, we may not see a building permit
application in the next 30 days, but should see one soon after. Supt. Cross should also
have a set of building plans for approval.
The Zoning Board(ZB)had a meeting where they had a request for a garage to be
built within 2.8 ft of the property line. They negotiated the setback to 1 Oft., which was
equal to the existing house. The request was granted.
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The second case at that Zoning Board meeting was for a certain type of meeting. It was
more like a screen to shield kids from leaving the yard...4 ft. high solid fence in the
backyard with a 2 ft. extension made out of lattice material. The ZB asked why the fence
couldn't be 4 ft in height. The ZB was unconvinced that a Eft. fence was needed and
denied the appeal.
Supt. Cross requested approval to attend a Code Training Class in Lake Placid on
September 3 and 4. This will afford him 10 hours of the required training for the year. He
will pick up the rest of the required hours throughout the year. In the abstract soon to be
approved,there is a request for a check for payment for the application and housing.
Motion by Trustee Bors
Seconded by Trustee Staley
Motion to pass Resolution 6376 approving Supt. Cross to attend the NYSBOC (New
York State Building Official's Conference) in Lake Placid on Sept. 3, 4, and 5 for the
purpose of 10 hours of in-service training.
Mayor Gilmore, Trustees Bors, Collyer, Donner, Riesman and Staley voted YES.
Report of the Treasurer—Treasurer Silber presented his report.
Information Technology - Several new desktop computers were deployed. One
failed computer was repaired and rebuilt. A printer is currently being diagnosed.
Numerous network issues were addressed.
Risk Management—Material was supplied to obtain health insurance options from
Olver Insurance.
Audit—Court field work was completed. Report is in preparation.
Three transfers were presented to the Board with explanations. Treasurer Silber asked for
Board approval.
Motion by Trustee Collyer
Seconded by Trustee Riesman
Motion to pass Resolution 6377 approving the transfers dated 8/18/08 as listed below:
From: To: Amount
A01990.400 Contingency A01460.200 Records Mgmt. Eqpt. $2,000
A01990.400 Contingency A01460.410 Records Mgmt. Contr.Exp $2,000
A01990.400 Cotingency A08010.400 HCS: ZBA Cont. Exp $ 100
Mayor Gilmore, Trustees Bors, Collyer, Donner, Riesman and Staley voted YES.
The Abstract of Vouchers was presented to the Board for approval. After
questions/discussions on certain vouchers, the following Resolution was offered:
Motion by Trustee Riesman
Seconded by Trustee Bors
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Motion to pass Resolution 6378 approving the Abstract of Audited Vouchers dated
8/18/08 in the amount of$168,722.24 and the appended items totally $7,400.50 and
instruct that the Treasurer make payments threon.
Additional Items:
The Computing Center Monitors $747.00 Info Tech:Contr Exp A01680.410
Miller Mayer, LLP Labor Relations matters $6653.50 Atty:Contr Exp. A01420.410
Mayor Gilmore, Trustees Bors, Collyer, Donner,Riesman and Staley voted YES.
Report of the Chief of Police— Chief Boyce presented his report for July 2008. A copy
of this report was distributed.
Trustee Bors asked if the overtime hours for the full time officers could be shown in
dollars instead of just hours. Treasurer Silber answered that because of the Comp Bank
that the officers have, as mandated in the PBA Contract, it would be difficult to show all
overtime in dollars; however, an average dollar amount could be shown. Treasurer Silber
will investigate how this can be done and get back to Trustee Bors.
Mayor Gilmore asked if we are mandated by the contract to pay comp dollars when
requested, not when it occurs. The answer is yes, the PBA contract states that comp pay is
paid when requested.
A question was asked about firearms training, i.e. that the P.D. has 3 instructors for the size
of the department. Chief Boyce said that he was an instructor, and since he became Chief,
another instructor had to be appointed as there should be two instructors in a department,
i.e., Sgt. Steinmetz and Officer Manning presently are the firearms instructors, certified to
train the Police on firearms and are training on the Rugar mini 14 patrol rifles. (?) The
CHPD use the Ithaca Police Dept. range on Burns Road for their training.
Should the deer remediation plan be approved, having trained police officers on different
equipment would be a necessity.
Upgrade to 800 Might radio system—The equipment is in place and the tentative date for
implementation is September 1.
The "old" Police Car 124 has been stripped and the "new" 124 is equipped and in service.
The car was advertised for bid, and only one was received for$3500. The book value is
$7000. Mayor Gilmore would like to explore other options....another advertisement under
"Cars for Sale", or an auction. He thinks the bid is too low.
Motion by Trustee Bors
Seconded by Trustee Donner
Motion to pass Resolution 6379 rejecting the bid of$3500 on the 2006 Dodge Charger
police car.
Mayor Gilmore, Trustees Burs, Collyer, Donner, Riesman and Staley voted YES.
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Motion by Trustee Donner
Seconded by Trustee Bors
Motion to pass Resolution 6380 authorizing the Mayor to accept any bids over$4000
on the 2006 Dodge Charger police car, or if no acceptable bids were received, to send
the car to Teitsworth Auction on September 13.
Mayor Gilmore, Trustees Bors, Collyer, Donner, Riesman and Staley voted YES.
Chief Boyce said that the burglary cases from February went to grand jury, and because
they were so well put together, they were pled out and are now in the process of
distributing back the victims' possessions. Another burglary was cleared up with DNA
testing.
It was suggested that another good article for The Courier would be about home safety.
Attorney Rothman was excused at 10:06 P.M. The Mayor thanked her on behalf of the
Trustees for all her help during this transition period.
Motion by Trustee Riesman
Seconded by Trustee Bors
Motion to pass Resolution 6381 moving into Executive Session to discuss labor
negotiation matters at 10:09 P.M.
Mayor Gilmore, Trustees Bors, Collyer, Donner, Riesman and Staley voted YES.
Motion by Trustee Staley
Seconded by Trustee Donner
Motion to pass Resolution 6382 to come out of Executive Session at 10:22 P.M.
Mayor Gilmore, Trustees Bors, Collyer, Donner, Riesman and Staley voted YES.
Motion by Trustee Staley
Seconded by Trustee Collyer
Motion to pass Resolution 6383 authorizing the Mayor to proceed with arrangements
to extend their DPW contract by two years, to permit the adding of the P.B.A. to
Teamster Health Insurance, and to proceed with the finalization of the P.B.A.
contract subject to subsequent ratification of the contract by the Trustees and the
P.B.A.
Mayor Gilmore, Trustees Bors, Collyer, Donner, Riesman and Staley voted YES.
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Mayor Gilmore said that he has a letter of engagement from our new attorney, Randy
Marcus. He will be working on an hourly rate of$200/hour. Attorney Laurie Johnston of
Miller Mayer is working for the Village on labor matters at a rate of$225/hour. Miller
Mayer was working for the Village on a retainer of$1996/month. There was discussion on
why the Village has decided to go from retainer to hourly rate. It should be remembered
that NYCOM is also a source for general questions and answers. Mayor Gilmore wanted
to stress that there is much experience in the firm that will represent the Village, and would
like the Trustees to authorize him to sign a letter of engagement with the new law firm.
Motion by Trustee Bors
Seconded by Trustee Donner
Motion to pass Resolution 6384 authorizing the Mayor to negotiate some fine points,
then sign the letter of engagement with Barney, Dubow, Grossman and Marcus.
Mayor Gilmore, Trustees Bors, Collyer, Donner, Riesman and Staley voted YES.
Motion by Trustee Riesman
Motion to adjourn the meeting at 10:43 P.M.
Mayor Gilmore, Trustees Bors, Collyer, Donner, Riesman and Staley voted YES.
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