HomeMy WebLinkAboutReg Mtg. Minutes 12/21/1998Minutes of Regular Meeting
December 21, 1998
VILLAGE OF CAYUGA HEIGHTS
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Minutes of a regular meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Village of Cayuga Heights, held
December 21, 1998 at 7:30 in the Village Hall.
PRESENT: Mayor Anderson; Trustees Bisogni Kira, Collyer, Kusse; Attorney Tyler; Treasurer
Silber; Supt. of P.W. Cross; Chief of Police Lansing; Asst. Fire Chief Evans; Clerk Kord.
ABSENT Trustees Fleming and Meinhardt; Fire Superintendent Day.
OTHERS: David Donner, Fair and Fred Gouldin, Leonard Weinstein, Susan Woodard, Charlotte
Shull.
Mayor Anderson called the meeting to order, opening it to the privilege of the floor. David
Donner appeared to answer any questions that the Board had concerning a resolution presented by
the Deer Committee in a letter Dated December 3, 1998, in which it was requested that the
Members of the Deer Study Committee be covered under the Village Errors and Omissions
Insurance Policy. They had become concerned based on reports from other localities whose
volunteers had undertaken to make recommendations on controversial matters. After some
discussion, it was felt that the committee may already be covered and Treasurer Silber agreed to
confer with the insurance carrier to verify the coverage and to communicate with the Mayor who
will in turn notify Mr. Donner.
Clerk Kord notified the Board that the Resolution numbers were omitted from the minutes of the
Regular Meeting of November 16, 1998
Motion by Trustee Kira, seconded by Trustee Bisogni:
Voted to approve the minutes of the Regular Meeting held November 16, 1998, previously
furnished to Trustees in copy form, with the addition of Resolution numbers. Trustees Bisogni,
Kira, Collyer and Kusse voted YES.
The Mayor reported on the following:
A request from Bolton Point that a Resolution of Agreement of Municipal Cooperation
Regional Water Supply System from the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca concerning
the Integrated Water System entitling the Village as partners needs amending and
approval in order for members to propose a final draft. A discussion of the Resolution
and the necessary amendments followed as well as a discussion of the financial
advantage to the Village of joining the partnership.
RESOLUTION 4970 — TO ADOPT THE AGREEMENT OF MUNICIPAL COOPERATION
FOR REGIONAL WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM
Motion by Trustee Kira, seconded by Trustee Collyer:
Voted to adopt the Agreement of Municipal Cooperation for Regional Water Supply System with
appropriate wording inserted. Trustees Bisogni, Kira, Collyer and Kusse voted YES.
The full text of the Resolution as passed in the form requested by Bolton Point officials is
appended to the minutes as Exhibit "A'.
Supt. of P.W. Cross, Chief of Police Lansing and Fire Chief Day attended the seminar in
Horseheads, "Risk Management, Managing Employment Practices Liability" on
December 11, 1998, and found it extremely informative.
There will be a meeting of the Intermunicipal Cable Commission, Wed. Dec. 23, 1998 at
7pm. in the Court House. The public comment period is Dec. 14 — Jan. 29. Public access
to Cable will be at the Cayuga Heights School, Kendal, The Village Hall and the Cayuga
Heights Fire Station.
- The Finger Lakes Independent Center expressed their thanks for efforts for the disabled
and announced upcoming workshops.
- The North East Subarea Transit Commission held a public meeting in December, have
concluded that a bypass is important for maintaining the integrity, safety and
peacefulness of local communities.
- Mayor Anderson attended a meeting on North Campus at Cornell and raised the issue of
the impact on the surrounding community of closing Jessup to motorized traffic.
- Resolution #284 from County Board of Reps. Workers Compensation Budget for 1999.
Amount to be received from the Village of Cayuga Heights to be $133.67.
- FEMA Flood Insurance Program Biennial Report. Asked about changes in flood plain
hazards. There have been no changes.
- There will be a Local Government Leaders meeting on January 14, 1999.
- There will be a Tompkins County Municipal Officials meeting on Jan. 19, 1999.
- There are various vacancies on committees, Youth Board, EMC.
Supt. of P.W. Cross gave his monthly report, which is on file, and reported on the following:
The Village has received the insurance coverage for the stolen BobCat loader. He would
like to purchase a new one without going to public bids and would therefore like to utilize
bids from other NYS local Municipalities. There was a discussion on methods for
purchase and it was decided that Supt. Cross would bring in bids that may be appropriate
next month. He felt confident that the insurance monies should cover the expense of the
new loader.
Pick up truck #10 and other items were sold at auction for $10,000 and now needs to be
replaced. There was a discussion of what vehicles with appropriate features are available.
It is the feeling of the DPW that the best vehicle for the Village purposes is a Ford, 4-
wheel drive truck, 8 cylinder, with snowplow. The cost for this vehicle $23,401.00.
Motion by Trustee Collyer, seconded by Trustee Bisogni:
RESOLUTION 4971— APPROVAL TO PURCHASE PICK -UP TRUCK
Voted to approve the purchase of a pick -up truck for no more than $23,401.00. Trustees Bisogni,
Kira, Collyer and Kusse voted YES.
The Fire Department project is at a point where it is time to take the next step, which is to
provide preliminary planning and sketches and cost estimates for the Village to review
and assistance in the public referendum process. The Fire Department would prefer to
continue working with Mitchell -Ross Associates Architects. Their fee would be
$28,000.00 for this stage. In order to save money for the Village, Supt. Cross has
proposed that he do the site work for the project. There was discussion of the legal
implications of Mr. Cross being named the Civil Engineer, and it was agreed that his
name would not be mentioned in the proposal, and that the site work would be excluded
from the proposal. There was a discussion of the scope of this proposal. There is
currently 525,000 in the Budget for this stage of the project. Treasurer Silber felt that
there might be miscellaneous expenses totaling approximately $3,000.00. There is
another anticipated $70,000.00 in architectural expenses before completion of project.
Motion by Trustee Bisogni, seconded by Trustee Kira;
RESOLUTION 4972 — APPROVE UP TO $31,000 FOR
FIRE DEPARTMENT CAPITAL PROJECT
Voted to permit the expenditure of $31,000 for Fire Station Improvements, Design Phase Project
Plan from Mitchell -Ross Associates. Trustees Bisogni, Kira, Collyer and Kusse voted YES.
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Motion by Trustee Kira, seconded by Trustee Collyer;
RESOLUTION 4973 — ENTER EXECUTIVE SESSION
Voted to enter into Executive Session at 9:45pm to discuss potential threatened litigation, based
on a letter recently received by the Mayor from Arty. John Stevens.
Trustees Bisogni, Kira, Collyer and Kusse voted YES.
The meeting reconvened at 10:20 PM.
Supt. of P.W. Cross continued his report.
Yaws Environmental has purchased a truck and has secured the necessary permits to haul
sludge. They propose to haul the Village's sludge for $45.00 /ton, a savings of
approximately $10.00 a ton, to private land instead of landfill disposition locations in
Seneca County, i.e. agricultural lands. The attorney questioned the wisdom of this
without further study, from the perspective of liability from potential heavy metal and
other contamination. He agreed to consult with a Cornell professor he knows who
specializes on this issue and report back.
The Village of Cayuga Heights has Clean Water Bond Act Funding from the governor.
The Village needs site - specific engineering for sewer plant improvements so that the
DEC can approve the funding; we need to inform them as to how we will apply money.
Supt. Cross submitted a fee proposal from Sterns and Wheler, who is representing all the
municipalities in the project, to provide the Engineering Services. The money would
come from the Sewer Fund reserve. $22,700.00 is available.
Motion by Trustee Collyer, seconded by Trustee Kira;