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HomeMy WebLinkAboutReg Mtg. Minutes 9/18/2000Minutes of the Regular Meeting September 18, 2000 Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees Present: Trustees Fleming, Kira, Kusse, and Lynn, Attorney Tyler, Treasurer Silber, Police Chief Lansing, Fire Chief Evans, Assistant Chief Pique, Supt. of Public Works Cross, Clerk Manning Absent: Mayor Ron Anderson, Trustees Meinhardt and Dunning Others: Kay Newman, Adelaide Gomer, Charlotte Anderson, Douglas and Nancy Green Trustee Fleming called the meeting to order at 7:35 PM and opened the meeting to the Privilege of the Floor. Adelaide Gomer wanted to discuss the deer situation. Trustee Fleming said that we are waiting for a report from the deer committee and when that report is available, the Mayor will schedule a meeting to discuss it. Douglas and Nancy Green, who own two homes in the Village, were present and advised the Board that they would be available to show others some of the methods they have devised to live with the deer population, such as clever gardening, etc. Trustee Fleming expressed his appreciation to them and invited them back when the matter is further discussed. *************************************** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** There was no correction to the minutes of the meeting of July 17. Motion by Trustee Kira, seconded by Trustee Lynn VOTED to approve the minutes the Regular Meeting of July 17, 2000. Trustees Fleming, Kira, Lynn and Kusse voted YES. ***************************************** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** There was no report of the Mayor since he was not present. Even though the August meeting of the Board of Trustees had been cancelled, Trustee Fleming stated that there was nothing in his report that couldn't wait until October's meeting. ***************************************** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** Supt. of PW Cross presented his report, which is on file, and reported on the following: The paving for this season is finished in the Village with the exception of some shoulder work. Mr. Cross reported on the status of the retaining wall that a private individual built. The situation is still ongoing. The Public Works Committee thinks that it should be moved. Attorney Tyler said that Supt. Cross should send a letter to the owner saying that the Village will remove the wall with a deadline stated. We will have to notify his lawyer before we remove it. Trustee Fleming asked if the wall is on the Village Right of Way or Village deeded property. Attorney Tyler said this particular road is not deeded to the Village. Trustee Kusse asked what is the legal claim to the Right of Way. Attorney Tyler said that the property goes to the center of the road subject to the right of way on the public street, which is 50 feet wide according to the official map. Supt. Cross discussed the fact that the Pleasant Grove Lane Association is requesting that the Village take dedication of their road, (a private lane). They 1 have requested this before. There are a number of improvements to be made before the village would take ownership, such as the width of legal right of way, the width and depth of the pavement, drainage, etc. Supt. Cross asked the Town of Ithaca for their specifications, which are consistent with what lie told them. We are deferring to the Town's specification since the Village is in the Town of Ithaca. Trustee Lynn said that he thought the first decision would be why do we encourage them to make changes if we may not want the road? Discussion ensued. Trustee Lynn asked for the history of the road. Supt. Cross said that most municipalities have subdivision regulations, which provide for developers to sub - divide the land and build roads, which meet specification, then the municipality takes over the road. Trustee Lynn said that at first they wanted a private road, now they want it to be public. We do send garbage trucks down the road but we don't presently plow the road. The DPW can't conveniently turn around at the end of the street. Discussion ensued. Trustee Lynn asked if we are obligated to take it if the specs are met? Atty. Tyler said that we need to adopt specifications like the Town of Ithaca. If it meets the specifications, we have to take it. We need to adopt our own specifications. Supt. Cross said that the Town of Ithaca specifications is sufficient for us. Trustee Lynn said that he needs more input and made a motion to defer. Trustee Kira seconded. Trustee Fleming asked Atty. Tyler do we have to take the road? Atty. Tyler said yes if it meets specs. Atty. Tyler inquired as to who owns the road? Supt. Cross said that the thinks the Association owns it. Atty. Tyler said that if they petition the Village to make it public, we need to take it assuming title to the roadway is satisfactory. Trustee Fleming asked what else do we need to know? Trustee Lynn expressed concern about going forward at this time. Treasurer Silber suggested that Supt. Cross be charged with writing specifications similar to the Town of Ithaca, then ask the Association if they want to proceed based on the specifications. Trustee Lynn still feels that the first order of business is to establish the question of specifications. Supt. Cross will talk to Bruce Ganem of the Pleasant Grove Association. The Water System in the Village was addressed next. There were leaks /repairs that needed to be fixed. Some work was more extensive than others, i.e. Remington Road. There are six properties that have water service through the backyards of neighbors. Permission was requested to run a water service through the Village Right of Way. The DPW has a new leaf vacuum machine. - Jeff Frisbie, the new mechanic, is busy bringing the DPW into safety compliance. Supt. Cross noted that he is doing a good job and Police Chief Lansing said that he is very happy with Jeff's work. Regarding Building and Grounds, the driveway /parking lot for the Village Office is being paved. Supt. Cross gave a history of the common area and pointed out that the paving was not budgeted. Trustee Kusse inquired about the blacktop specs. Supt. Cross said that the pavers would put down the minimum required. He assured the Board that he is keeping an eye on things and all is proceeding smoothly. 2 Borg Warner had an inspection by the NYSDEC after an employee made a complaint about an internal affair, and at the same time the NYSDEC inspected their pre - treatment plant. Supt. Cross doesn't have the report yet from NYSDEC. Borg Warner has contracted with an engineering firm to review the capacity of the Village WWTP. We will be getting a proposal from Borg Warner at which time we'll have to hire our own engineer to confirm their findings. By contract we are obliged to take their sewage. Regarding the concentration limits, we keep track of them on a monthly basis to make sure they meet the limits. As of this point in time, there are no penalties or violations. Personnel — the summer /seasonal employees are gone. We are currently at our regular staff. Mike Newhart is working on limited duty basis. We are waiting for Perma to investigate his case and give us feedback on what we can do. Jeff Frisbie, as of September 4, is off probation. Supt. Cross recommends offering him full -time employment, which would increase his pay to $15.08/hour effective September 4 along with his health supplement. Motion by Trustee Kira, seconded by Trustee Lynn. VOTED to make Jeff Frisbie a permanent employee with a wage of $15.08/hour and all applicable benefits effective September 4, 2000. Trustees Fleming, Kira, Lynn and Kusse voted YES. Tompkins County Personnel department has been reviewing the Village's Civil Service employee status and has informed us that we need to create two MEO positions — one for an existing employee and one for possible future use. Supt. Cross asked for a resolution to approve two more MEO slots. Motion by Trustee Fleming, seconded by Trustee Kira. VOTED to create 2 new MEO positions. Trustees Fleming, Kira, Lynn and Kusse voted YES. Supt. Cross stated that he needed to go into Executive Session to discuss personnel matters. It was decided to continue with the reports and then go into Executive Session. The report of the Fire Chief, which is on file, was presented and Chief Evans reported on the following: Activity has been low — 30+ calls. We answered a mutual aid call on Warren Road, which is in our fire protection district. Trustee Lynn asked about the new fire station — when is it supposed to be finished? Fire Chief replied that though they are approximately 2 weeks behind, they are still projecting December 1 as their finish date. They will make up the time by prolonging their workdays. The building should be "buttoned up" by October 1. Trustee Kira asked if we solved the problem with equipment blocking the sidewalk. Chief Evans answered said that that was fixed the next day. There are new engine specs under review by the Village Counsel and Treasurer Silber. Trustee Kira proposed that Chief Evans put the truck out to bid subject to Treasurer's and Attorney's input. MOTION by Trustee Kira, seconded by Trustee Lynn. 3 VOTED to put Fire Truck out to bid subject to Treasurer's and Attorney's review of bid document. Trustees Fleming, Kira, Lynn and Kusse voted YES. Trustee Kusse asked if there would be an open house? Chief Evans said that there would not be an open house in October as there have been in the past, but Bob Day will put together the open house after the completion of the Fire Station. Attorney Tyler reported on the following: A question was raised by Trustee Lynn regarding the pending Putnam wrongful death case. There is a motion brought by several municipalities, which we will join, that the family has been receiving Workers Compensation, which by law is an exclusive remedy, and that should be the final word on the matter. The mayor has a copy and should sign the motion papers on Tuesday in behalf of the Village after his return. Past H/R issues will be deferred to the October meeting. There was a proposal from TCTC that they want to do some advertising with the new fire station since they provided the funding. Attorney Tyler called NYCOM and is waiting for an answer from them as to whether we should do this or not. Trustee Lynn thinks that we shouldn't do it. Attorney Tyler wants to wait for NYCOM's comments before proceeding. Attorney Tyler has a matter for Executive Session. Treasurer Silber reported on the following: - The year -end closing of the village books is coming along but has been "challenging" because of various issues, along with the change in Clerks. Clerk Manning is working with Treasurer Silber to get things straightened out. - The new server has been installed and is working nicely. - We needed to bury a new data line to the basement of the Village Green to allow us to get the service of T -1 connectivity. Treasurer Silber was able to get the pipe buried before the paving in the parking lot was finished. - There were 2 sets of Abstracts, the current one for September, and the one for August, which needed ratification. The August bills were paid even though we did not have a meeting in August. Treasurer Silber asked for a resolution to approve both abstracts. Motion by Trustee Lynn, seconded by Trustee Kira, VOTED to accept the Abstract of Warrants for both August and September, ratifying the bills paid by the Treasurer in August. Trustees Fleming, Kira, Lynn and Kusse voted YES. The report of the Police Chief, which is on file, was presented. Chief Lansing explained that even though we didn't have a meeting in August, he had to hire a school crossing guard. He hired Rose Morusty to be able to begin for the school year and asked for a resolution to ratify her hiring. Motion by Trustee Kira, seconded by Trustee Lynn. VOTED to ratify the hiring of Rose Morusty as crossing guard. Trustees Fleming, Kira, Lynn and Kusse voted YES. Ell Chief Lansing reported that there are new tires on the Department Explorer thanks to Firestone. The Police Department helped out with the Mike Padula Memorial Run directing traffic and would like to continue helping in the years to come. There were quite a few tickets handed out in July but it has settled down some. Trustee Kira mentioned that she likes the new radar vehicle. Chief Lansing said that the general consensus of the residents is that they like it on their streets. It does not, however, have the ability to collect data. Trustee Fleming asked about the procedure for barking dogs. Chief Lansing explained the law. ***************************************** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** Clerk Manning reported to the Board that the Village had received a grant from the New York State Department of Education to archive our records. We need to hire 2 individuals to work part-time (not more than 19 hours /week) to complete this project, which needs to be finished by June 30, 2001. We need to create 2 temporary part-time positions before we can hire anybody. Clerk Manning asked for a resolution to create 2 temporary part-time clerk positions. Motion by Trustee Kira, seconded by Trustee Lynn. VOTED to create two part-time temporary clerk positions. Trustees Fleming, Kira, Lynn and Kusse voted YES. Brent Cross brought to the Board's attention a letter from Julia Bell and Jeff Sultar of 1006 Highland Road requesting to change their occupancy classification from 2 Dwelling Units (D.U.) to 1 D.U. There was a discussion regarding permanent loss of the right to the 2 D.U. occupancy. Zoning Officer Cross agreed to send a letter to the owners to alert them about the loss of the 2 D.U. occupancy. No action was taken at this time. ***************************************** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** Attorney Tyler requested a motion to move into Executive Session. Motion by Trustee Lynn, seconded by Trustee Kira VOTED to move into Executive Session at 9:10 PM. to discuss personnel matters with respect to a Village department and one personnel matter of a specific employee. Trustees Fleming, Kira, Lynn and Kusse voted YES. Motion by Trustee Fleming, seconded by Kira VOTED to move out of Executive Session at 9:45 PM and adjourn this meeting of the Board of Trustees for a continuation at 4:00 PM on Friday, October 13, for a further discussion with Counsel of the matters addressed at Executive Session. Trustees Fleming, Kira, Lynn and Kusse voted YES. Motion by Trustee Lynn, seconded by Kira Voted to adjourn at 9:45 PM. Trustees Fleming, Kira, Lynn and Kusse voted YES. Norma Manning Clerk