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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05.18.2022_Minutes1 Minutes VILLAGE OF CAYUGA HEIGHTS Wednesday, May 18, 2022 Zoom Meeting ID # 4118425407 BOARD OF TRUSTEES 7:00 p.m. MONTHLY MEETING Present: Mayor Woodard; Trustees: Hubbard, Marshall, Rennekamp, Robinson, Salton, and VanLoan; Village Engineer B. Cross; Director of Public Works Wiese; Clerk Walker; Treasurer Dolch; Attorney Marcus. Absent: Chief Wright 1. Call to Order: Mayor Woodard calls the meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. 2. Approval of Meeting Minutes: April 20, 2022 (Exhibit 2023-015) •Meeting minutes were tabled until the June 15, 2022 meeting. 2b. Approval of the May 10, 2022, Special Joint BOT/Planning Board Meeting Minutes: (Exhibit 2023-016) Resolution # 9206 BE IT RESOLVED THAT: the Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees approves the Special Joint BOT/Planning Board Meeting minutes as related to the section on RaNic Golf Club. Motion: Trustee Marshall Second: Trustee Robinson Ayes: Mayor Woodard; Trustees: Marshall, Rennekamp, Robinson, Salton, and VanLoan Nays: none Abstentions: Hubbell Motion Carried 3. Report of Fire Superintendent Tamborelle: Submitted Report (Exhibit 2023-017) •Fire Superintendent Tamborelle states that things are going well at the station. A fair number of CHFD students are staying for the summer. •Fire Superintendent Tamborelle states that the trip to the Indianapolis convention was great. The CHFD members attended several hours of training each day. 4. Privilege of the Floor: No members of the public wish to speak. 5. Report of Treasurer Dolch: Submitted Report (Exhibit 2023-009) •Village Treasurer Dolch states last week members of the Village Finance Committee met with INSERO as well as the Office of the State Comptrollers to answer more questions on the Annual Update Document submitted by former Village Treasurer J. Laskaris. •Village Treasurer Dolch states that the April bank to book reconciliations are complete and the only action item that needs to be approved is this month’s abstract. 2 Approval of Abstract # 12 Resolution: 9207 BE IT RESOLVED THAT: the Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees approves Abstract #12 for FYE2022 consisting of TA vouchers 88-93 in the amount of $19,951.85 and Consolidated Fund vouchers 879-961 in the amount of $591,211.27 and the Treasurer is instructed to make payments thereon. Motion: Trustee Rennekamp Second: Trustee Marshall Ayes: Mayor Woodard; Trustees: Hubbell, Marshall, Rennekamp, Robinson, Salton, and VanLoan Nays: none Abstentions: none •Mayor Woodard states that the OSG auditors informed the Village that the AUD was submitted with known errors. There is still a discrepancy of $119,000 in the fund balance. •Trustee Salton wants to make sure that Village Treasurer Dolch is getting all the resources she needs to find the answer to this discrepancy. •Clerk Walker states that INSERO has been performing the Village audits for several years and they should be able to resolve this issue. Motion Carried 6. Report of Mayor Woodard: a. Public Hearing on Proposed Local Law B of 2022- Resolution on Video Conferencing.: •Village Attorney R. Marcus states he has consulted with an attorney at NYCOM and agrees that the new state law provides municipalities the option to authorize meeting via videoconferencing by resolution. Resolution: 9208 Authorizing the Use of Videoconferencing for the Conduct of Meetings WHEREAS, as of April 9, 2022, the previous videoconferencing provisions found in Public Officers Law § 103(c) were removed, and public bodies wishing to conduct meetings via videoconference must comply with the new requirements of Public Officers Law § 103‐a; and WHEREAS, Public Officers Law § 103‐a(2) authorizes public bodies to conduct meetings using videoconference technology so long as a quorum of the public body is physically present at one or more of the locations where the public can also attend in person; and WHEREAS, in order for public bodies to conduct meetings via videoconferencing, certain requirements of Public Officers Law § 103‐a(2) must be satisfied; and WHEREAS, among the requirements of Public Officers Law § 103‐a(2) is that the public body must adopt a local law or a resolution after a public hearing authorizing the use of videoconferencing for itself and its committees or subcommittees; and 3 WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees of the Village of Cayuga Heights desires to authorize the use of videoconferencing for itself and its committees or subcommittees; and WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees has conducted a public hearing to hear comments on the use of videoconferencing to conduct public meetings; NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved by the Board of Trustees of the Village of Cayuga Heights as follows: 1. The Board of Trustees of the Village of Cayuga Heights, as well as each of its committees and subcommittees, is hereby authorized to conduct meetings via videoconferencing in accordance with the requirements of Public Officers Law § 103‐a(2), including, but not limited to: A. A quorum of the members of the Board of Trustees must be physically present at one of the meeting locations at which the public can attend in person unless the member is unable to be physically present due to extraordinary circumstances, which include disability, illness, caregiving responsibilities, or any other significant or unexpected factor or event which precludes the member's physical attendance at such meeting. B. Except in the case of executive sessions conducted pursuant to Public Officers Law § 105, the Board of Trustees shall ensure that members of the Board of Trustees can be heard, seen, and identified while the meeting is being conducted, including but not limited to any motions, proposals, resolutions, and any other matter formally discussed or voted upon. C. The minutes of meetings involving videoconferencing must include which, if any, members participated remotely and must be made available to the public pursuant to Public Officers Law § 106. D. The public notice for the meeting must (i) inform the public (a) that videoconferencing will be used, (b) where they can view and/or participate in such meeting, and (c) where required documents and records will be posted or available, and (ii) identify the physical location(s) where members of the Board of Trustees will be participating in the meeting and where the public can attend the meeting in person. E. The Board of Trustees must record each meeting that uses videoconferencing and such recordings must be posted or linked to on the public body’s website within five business days of the meeting. The recordings must remain available for a minimum of five years thereafter, and recordings must be transcribed upon request. F. At meetings where public comment or participation is authorized, members of the public must be able to participate in the proceedings via videoconference in real-time. G. If the Board of Trustees broadcasts its meetings or conducts its meetings via videoconference, it must use technology that permits members of the public with disabilities to access the video in a manner consistent with the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Motion: Trustee Salton Second: Trustee Hubbell Ayes: Mayor Woodard; Trustees: Marshall, Hubbell, Rennekamp, Robinson, Salton, and VanLoan Nays: none Abstentions: none Motion Carried 4 b. Schedule a Special Joint Meeting with the Planning Board about the proposed RaNic Planned Development Zone (PDZ). •Mayor Woodard states the RaNic Golf Club owners are interested to know if the Village Board of Trustees is open to amending the current Village Zoning law to allow Townhouses and a Hotel. •Village Attorney R. Marcus states that the only way the Board can authorize the creation of a PDZ is if the Board decides that amending the Village Zoning Law has a direct benefit to the Village and follows the Village Compressive Plan. •B. Cross states that he has talked to the developer, and they is ready to provide that information to the Village Board at the June 15, 2022 meeting. But before that plan is developed any further, they would like to know if the Board is open to the idea of a hotel and townhouses. •Trustee Salton states that he recalls from a past conversation that there is a first right of refusal on this property, and he would like to know the specific language on that first right of refusal for the RaNic Golf Club property. •Mayor Woodard suggested that each Board member state their own thoughts about the proposed RaNic PDZ project. To summarize, the Board is concerned with the following: the increase in density, the increase in traffic, a concern for wetland protection, and the loss of a community swimming pool. •In conclusion, the consensus of the Board is that they are willing to consider allowing townhouses and a small hotel to be included in the PDZ proposal. •The Board agreed that the scope of the project is too large and needs to be scaled back. •Mayor Woodard states that B. Cross will get back to the developer and inform them that the scale and density are too large. There should not be any changes to the wetlands and the current setbacks need to be followed. •B. Cross states that RaNic will need to format their program in such a way that not only demonstrates why the village would want to allow this use. He will inform the developer of the Board's wishes and they can then decide where to go from there. c. Sunset Park Proposal: The Village Board has agreed to make some important improvements to the park. •Mayor Woodard states the Board of Trustees budgeted $28,000 for Sunset Park improvements. •Mayor Woodard also states that Michele Palmer formally of Templeton Design has now joined the Whitham Planning Design Landscape Architecture Firm and is putting together a proposal for Sunset Park. •Village Attorney R. Marcus states that for the record he has done business with Whitham Planning Design Landscape Architecture Firm and would like the Village Board to understand that there could be a potential conflict of interest and waive any potential conflict of interest. 5 Resolution # 9209 BE IT RESOLVED THAT: the Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees approves waiving any conflict of interest associated with Village Attorney Randy Marcus with the Whitham Planning Design Landscape Architecture Firm in association with the Sunset Park improvement describes in Exhibit 2023-021 Motion: Trustee Marshall Second: Trustee Robinson Ayes: Mayor Woodard; Trustees: Hubbell, Marshall, Rennekamp, Robinson, Salton, and VanLoan Nays: none Abstentions: none Motion Carried •Mayor Woodard states that the goal of this work includes a re-design of parking, eradicating invasive plant species, and re-pointing of stonework and plantings as described in Exhibit 2023-021. •Trustee Marshall states that they are also going to look at the paved surfaces and address the need for re-planting. He also states that there is a link to see some of the original plans for Sunset Park that can be found on the Village Historical website. ttps://www.cayugaheightshistory.org/sunset-parkwestern-slope.html •Trustee Marshall states that the first fifteen feet of the slope portion of the park will be replanted with low growing native vegetation. Resolution # 9210 BE IT RESOLVED THAT: the Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees approves and authorizes Mayor Woodard to sign the Whitham Planning Design Proposal for Sunset Park. Motion: Trustee Robinson Second: Trustee Salton Ayes: Mayor Woodard; Trustees: Hubbell, Marshall, Rennekamp, Robinson, Salton, and VanLoan Nays: none Abstentions: none Motion Carried d. Lead Update: There are 226 Village Residents that Bolton Point cannot determine if they have any lead water pipes either in the main to the house or at the curb box. •Mayor Woodard states that Bolton Point has recently determined 18 of the 226 to be free of any lead piping. •Mayor Woodard states that this summer the DPW staff will be cataloging where the curb boxes are located on the remaining properties. •Director Wiese states that the contractor has several trucks available to provide the work if we run into a shortage of time to complete this project. 6 e. AOC Budget Resolution: The Access Oversite Committee operates under the City of Ithaca franchise agreement with Charter Communications and as a participating municipality the Village votes on the AOC equipment budget recommendations each year. Resolution: 9211 WHEREAS, Section 15.12 of the Franchise Agreement of January 2003 between the City of Ithaca and the franchisee Time Warner Entertainment-Advance/Newhouse Partnership (TWC) (“Franchise Agreement”), subsequently assigned to Charter Communications, Inc. d/b/a Spectrum Networks (Charter) after Charter's 2016 acquisition of TWC, requires the participating municipalities (City of Ithaca, Town of Ithaca, Village of Cayuga Heights) to provide the franchisee with an annual written budget for Public, Educational and Governmental access operations (PEG) by June 30 of each calendar year; and WHEREAS, Section 15.12 of the Franchise Agreement requires that PEG Access Staff provide the Access Oversight Committee (AOC) with budget recommendations for the following year by April 30; and WHEREAS, the City of Ithaca's Ordinance #2003-17, Par 18-4-G, requires the Access Oversight Committee (AOC) to provide the Participating Municipalities with a recommended budget for the following year by May 31; and WHEREAS, the Franchise Agreement authorizes Charter to collect $0.15 per subscriber per month to be used for the purchase of PEG equipment and facilities; and WHEREAS, the AOC has reviewed PEG’s current equipment and facilities and anticipates that new or replacement equipment and facilities will likely be needed, including the “mini studio,” and certain playback equipment; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, that the AOC recommends earmarking up to $1,000.00 to facilitate a new PEG website, and be it further RESOLVED, that the AOC recommends a $50,000.00 contingency to purchase equipment as needed for the functioning of PEG operations, pending receipt and AOC approval of line-item estimates, and be it further RESOLVED, that the AOC forwards its recommendations for approval by the Common Council of the City of Ithaca, the Town of Ithaca Board, and the Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees, so that they may meet their obligation to provide Charter Communications with an annual written budget for Public, Educational and Governmental access operations no later than June 30, 2022. FURTHER, BE RESOLVED that the Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees approves of the 2022 AOC budget recommendations as written. Motion: Trustee Rennekamp Second: Trustee Salton Ayes: Mayor Woodard; Trustees: Hubbell, Marshall, Rennekamp, Robinson, Salton, and VanLoan Nays: none Abstentions: none Motion Carried 7 f. Brush and Bulky Trash Pickup: A Village resident has requested that the Board discuss increasing the number of pickups in the Spring / Summer months. •Mayor Woodard states that she thinks this is a fair request but is concerned about the amount of staff time it takes. •Directory Wiese states that brush and bulky trash pickups independently take two full days to complete. If we were to add more dates, then we will fall behind with other work scheduled within the Village. •Trustee Marshall states that this would only add to the confusion on when is the right time to place items out for pickup. Trustee Robinson agreed. •Mayor Woodard also states that she will also address the issue of dog waste in bags and trash in the next eNewsBlast. 7. Report of The Trustees: •No report at this time. 8 . Report of Police Chief Wright: Submitted Report (Exhibit 2023-022) •In Police Chief Wright's absence Police, Sergeant Manning was in attendance via Zoom to answer any questions from the Board. •Trustee Salton states that at the Village Public Safety Committee a discussion took place about the County Sheriff’s Office pilot program to hire two non-armed civilians to respond to certain calls from the County Dispatch Center. •Trustee Salton states that he believes that it will be very difficult to decipher whose responsibility it is to answer the calls between triage, mental health, medical and law enforcement. Many in the County are committed to giving this a try and we will just have to see how it works. •Sergeant Manning states that unfortunately there are a lot of the responses where a law enforcement officer has to respond. Seargent Manning is eager to see how this pilot program works in real-time. In actuality, the on-duty supervisor Sergeant, or Lieutenant will likely decide on who to dispatch. •Mayor Woodard asks Sergeant Manning if he is aware of the type of assistance calls outside the Village and if anywhere during a shift change. •Sergeant Manning states that none of the calls were to cover another municipality during a shift change. Most were for assistance at the Ecolodge. •Trustee Salton asks what is going on at the Ecolodge. •Sergeant Manning states that the Ecolodge is one of three hotels that the City of Ithaca is using for homeless and parolees. The department is seeing a lot of calls for domestics, drug overdoses, and assaults. •Sergeant Manning states that when the departmtne is called for support from another agency CHPD is typically the closest car. 9. Report of Director of DPW Wiese: Submitted Report (Exhibit 2023-023) •Director Wiese states that he has been working with the County to create an online system to handle all the building 8 permits. •Director Wiese states that the DPW has been utilizing the village camera to investigate I&I in the village. They have examined lines on the Right of Way behind Forest Drive, Spruce Lane, and the Kendall field which resulted in no measurable findings of Inflow and Infiltration. •Director Wiese states that he is holding off on scheduling any paving work until later in the year. This is an effort to ride out the oil prices. If things don’t change by spring, he will schedule the paving. •Trustee Salton asks if there are areas that if we don’t pave now they will get worse. •Director Wiese states that is a risk we are going to have to take. Pleasant Grove for example needs more than a topcoat. However, it will be several years before we can completely replace the road with new asphalt. Bolton Point and NYSEG both have underground projects that will affect the surface if we pave now. •B.Cross states that the skip coat could be also used as a reinforcement base for the final paving. •In closing, Director Wiese states that the following is a list of all the sidewalk repairs planned for the upcoming fiscal year. 906 Triphammer Road, Hillside Road, East Upland (School Corner), East Upland (Triphammer Corner), West Upland, Highland Road (North of Cayuga Park), The Parkway (North of School driveway), Hanshaw Road (Between school driveway and Comstock), Pleasant Grove (near fire department) 10. Report of Village Engineer Cross: Rightsizing Culvert Project: •B. Cross states that Cayuga Heights Rightsizing Culvert Project bids were opened on May 12, 2022, at 2:00 p.m. and the results are listed below. Vacri Construction base bid: $711,000 Add culvert#1: $69,000 Add culvert#4: $107,000 Add culvert#7A: $82,000 Economy Paving base bid: $884,000 Add culvert#1: $48,000 Add culvert#4: $66,000 Add culvert#7A: $100,000 FP Kane base bid: $499,000 Add culvert#1: $84,000 Add culvert#4: $116,000 Add culvert#7A: $47,000 9 •FP Kane is the apparent low bidder, and T.G. Miller is in the process of evaluating the company. •B. Cross states that we will want to award the base bid plus culvert 7A for a total of $583,000. The original estimate for the project (inclusive of #1 and #4 minus #7A) was $595,768 submitted in the grant request. The Trustees would be approving to “award” the low bid to FP Kane and then authorize TG Miller to prepare a contract that would be approved by the Trustees at the June meeting. •Trustee Hubbell asks if B.Cross is comfortable with the FP Kane bid since it came in so much lower than the other two. •B. Cross states that TG Millers is requesting references from other projects that FP Kane has completed. He also states that there does not seem to be a concern, and the contractor has secured a Bid Bond that would cover any monetary differences. Resolution: 9212 BE IT RESOLVED THAT: the Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees authorizes and approves accepting the Rightsizing Culvert Project bids received on May 12, 2022, opened and read by Village Clerk Walker. The Board further resolves and awards the project bid to FP Kane Construction Inc. 241 Front St. Vestal, NY 13850 in the amount of $546,000. Motion: Trustee Marshall Second: Trustee Robinson Ayes: Mayor Woodard; Trustees: Hubbell, Marshall, Rennekamp, Robinson, Salton, and VanLoan Nays: none Abstentions: none Motion Carried Resolution: 9213 BE IT RESOLVED THAT: the Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees authorizes and approves T.G. Millers to prepare the Rightsizing Culvert Project contracts for FP Kane Constructions Inc. Motion: Trustee Hubbell Second: Trustee Salton Ayes: Mayor Woodard; Trustees: Hubbell, Marshall, Rennekamp, Robinson, Salton, and VanLoan Nays: none Abstentions: none Motion Carried •In Closing B. Cross states that he is pleased with the way this project has progressed. b. The MS4 Annual Stormwater Report: 10 •B. Cross states that the Tompkins County Stormwater Coalition has completed the Annual MS4 document and is ready to submit it to NYSDEC. At this point, the Board would need to pass a resolution supporting this document. Resolution: 9214 BE IT RESOLVED THAT: the Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees authorizes and approves the 2021 MS4 document and authorizes Mayor Woodard to sign the Municipal Compliance Certification form within the 2021 MS4 document. Motion: Trustee Hubbell Second: Trustee Salton Ayes: Mayor Woodard; Trustees: Hubbell, Marshall, Rennekamp, Robinson, Salton, and VanLoan Nays: none Abstentions: none •Trustee Salton states that he has read the document and wonders who will be completing some of the blanks. •B. Cross states that he provides the information, and the Tompkins County Soil and water commission tabulates and enters that information. Motion Carried c. Bergmann Associates: •B. Cross has requested Bergmann Associates to give us a proposal to update the previous study that was done as well as factor in a potential impact for the RaNic added traffic. There is a short window of time to submit a grant pre-application for an NYSDOT Transportation Improvement Project through the Ithaca/Tompkins County Transportation Council. •At the advice of the ITCTC director he suggested we would increase our odds of obtaining a grant if we could break down the project into two parts and request funding for only one of the parts. •B. Cross was able to discuss with Kelly Thompson of Bergmann Associates and estimated that we could get the Triphammer Road intersection done for $1,000,000 or less (adjusted for inflation). This application was due on 5/10/22. Since then, he has learned that 10 other projects have been submitted within our area. •B. Cross states that there is a new federal aid program called Safe Routes For All coming through NYSDOT. The goal is to have Bergmann Associates take our existing traffic study and reshape it for these new grant opportunities. •Trustee Marshall inquires to when will the information we need to submit in an application be available. •B. Cross states that he hopes to have something for the Board to approve by the June 15, 2022 Meeting. Resolution: 9215 11 BE IT RESOLVED THAT: the Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees authorizes and approves Bergmann Associate's Proposal to update the 2019 Village Traffic Study not to exceed $6,400.00 and to be paid out of the contingency fund. Motion: Trustee Salton Second: Trustee Robinson Ayes: Mayor Woodard; Trustees: Hubbell, Marshall, Rennekamp, Robinson, Salton, and VanLoan Nays: none Abstentions: none Motion Carried WWTP Phase 3 Improvement Project. •B. Cross states that GHD Engineers have prepared an Engineering Report for a proposed WWTP Phase 3 project. There are several different elements of the project, but the combined total cost inclusive of engineering fees and estimated inflation is approximately $10,000,000. •Until we know if we can get a grant to help pay for some of this project, the Village is not obligated to move forward with the project, but the next step to being eligible for a grant is to have GHD Engineers submit this report to the NYS Environmental Facilities Corporation to have it placed on the Intend Use Plan List. •This list is a placeholder on the state level to show them where money is needed to help communities meet their permit compliance. This will give us a ranking that will be used by the EFC to determine who will be awarded grants from the Water Infrastructure Improvement Act or other sources. Resolution: 9216 BE IT RESOLVED THAT: the Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees authorizes and approves the GHD Phase 3 WWTP Engineering Report to be submitted to the Environmental Facilities Corporation for inclusion in the intended use plan. Motion: Trustee Hubbell Second: Trustee Robinson Ayes: Mayor Woodard; Trustees: Hubbell, Marshall, Rennekamp, Robinson, Salton, and VanLoan Nays: none Abstentions: none Motion Carried •B. Cross states that he wanted the Board to know he spoke to the principal at the Cayuga Heights Elementary School and she anticipates most of the storage containers will be relocated in late August when teachers return. 11. Report of Clerk Walker: •Clerk Walker states that our new Village Deputy Clerk will start next week. •Clerk Walker states that the 2022 Village Taxes will be mailed out on May 26, 2022. 12 12. Report of Attorney Marcus: •Village Attorney R. Marcus states that he would like to request a client/attorney session. 13. Client/Attorney Session: Resolution: 9217 BE IT RESOLVED THAT: the Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees enters a client/attorney session at 9:39 p.m. Motion: Trustee Robinson Second: Trustee Marshall Ayes: Mayor Woodard; Trustees: Hubbell, Marshall, Rennekamp, Robinson, Salton, and VanLoan Nays: none Abstentions: none Motion Carried 13. Adjournment: Mayor Woodard adjourns the meeting at 10:00 p.m.