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HomeMy WebLinkAbout4.15.2026 Minutes1 VILLAGE OF CAYUGA HEIGHT April 15th 2026 Zoom ID # 4118425407 BOARD OF TRUSTEES 7:00 p.m. MONTHLY MEETING Present: Mayor Woodard; Trustees: Biloski, Conway, Fleming, Hubbell, and Robinson; Fire Superintendent Tamborelle, Police Chief Wright, Superintendent of Public Works Cross and Southard; Assistant Superintendent of Public Works Cowder; Village Attorney Shah; Village Clerk Walker. Absent: Trustee Salton 1. Call to Order: Mayor Woodard calls the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 2a. Approval of the March 18, 2026 Board Meeting Minutes (Exhibit 2027 - 001) Resolution: 10044 BE IT RESOLVED THAT: the Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees approves the March 18, 2026 Board Meeting Minutes as presented. Motion: Trustee Biloski Second: Trustee Robinson Ayes: Mayor Woodard; Trustees: Biloski, Conway, Hubbell, and Robinson Nays: none Abstentions: none Motion Carried 2b. Approval of the April 1, 2026 Annual Organizational Meeting Minutes (Exhibit 2027 - 002) Resolution: 10045 BE IT RESOLVED THAT: the Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees approves the April 1, 2026, Annual Organizational Meeting Minutes as corrected. Motion: Trustee Hubbell Second: Trustee Biloski Ayes: Mayor Woodard; Trustees: Biloski, Conway, Hubbell, and Robinson Nays: none Abstentions: none •Trustee Robinson states there are a few corrections and advised Clerk Walker, who states he will make the necessary corrections. 2 Motion Carried 3. Privilege of the Floor: No members of the public wish to speak. 4. Public Hearing on the Upland Estates Planned Development Zone. •Mayor Woodard opens the Public Hearing at 7:03 p.m. •Graham Feltham of Whitham Design gives a brief overview of the project to members of the public. •Village resident Curt Ashman of 398 East Upland states that he is still opposed to the development that is proposed. He is, however, glad that the Village is pursuing development in accordance with the comprehensive plan. •Village resident Curt Ashman states that the Village should consider informing the public that zoning laws are changing so developers can be aware and come forward with proposals, rather than allowing a developer to propose a project first. •Mayor Woodard states that the owner of the property has a desire to build more than just a few houses on the property. This proposed PDZ allows the Village to make all the decisions associated with a project that is not currently zoned. •Village Engineer B. Cross states that this rule is only applicable to property owners with more than five acres. •Village resident Kathy Hopkins of 107 Midway states that she has been a realtor for fifty years. She is excited that this project is moving forward. There is a housing shortage close to campus, and for people who want to live close to commercial areas. •Village resident Jim Gilmore of 424 Hanshaw Road states that he is also excited to see this project move forward. •Village resident Jim Gilmore states that he has noticed that our Village's natural gas pressure is way down, and he is concerned that with this new project, the pressure might get worse. •Village Engineer B. Cross states that, actually, NYSEG owns the natural gas lines, not the Village. He was not aware of this issue and will address it with them next week. •Mayor Woodard turns to the Board for additional comments •Trustee Conway states that the current plan still shows ten units, and not eight. Is that supposed to be that way since the plans showed eight units? •Jacob van Mechow of Whitham Design states that, having not gone through site plan review, we are still hoping to have ten units on the site once we adjust the building footprint. •Trustee Conway states that the piece on ownership, the language should be clearer, will the houses be sold and owned by one entity? As written, it is confusing. •Graham Feltham states that the individual homes will be sold, and only common land will be owned by the HOA. This language was taken directly from the Village Code, including short-term rentals. •Village Engineer B. Cross states that our existing language doesn’t quite fit since we have never allowed this new style of housing, townhouses. Ultimately, the point is that it is not the intention of the developer to have a consortium of owners. 3 •Trustee Biloski states that the Board has worked hard to take into consideration everyone’s interests when developing this law. •Mayor Woodard states that she also agrees with K. Hopkins that the area needs more housing. •Mayor Woodard closes the Public Hearing at 7:24 p.m. Resolution: 10046 BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees hereby establishes a new Village Zoning area under the Planned Development Zone for East Upland Estates. Motion: Trustee Conway Second: Trustee Robinson Ayes: Mayor Woodard; Trustees: Biloski, Conway, Fleming, Hubbell, and Robinson Nays: none Abstentions: none •Mayor Woodard states that the next step in this project is for the Village Planning to conduct a site plan review. Motion Carried 5. Report of Treasurer Dolch: •Treasurer Dolch states that the March bank-to-book reconciliations are complete and have been signed off by Deputy Treasurer Conway. •Treasurer Dolch states that the FYE2027 budget has been finalized and sent to New York State. •Treasurer Dolch states that the DPW recently purchased a new mower to be used for Community Beautification. Community Beautification Equipment is not an account that has been used in the past nor has it been budgeted for. With Board approval, she can start an account and fund it with $9,000 from Refuse Equipment. There is money in that account. Resolution: 10047 BE IT RESOLVED THAT: The Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees authorizes and approves reallocating $9000 from A8160.200 (Refuse Equipment) to fund new account A8510.200 (Community Beautification Equipment). Motion: Trustee Biloski Second: Trustee Conway Ayes: Mayor Woodard; Trustees: Biloski, Conway, Fleming, Hubbell, and Robinson Nays: none Abstentions: none Motion Carried 4 •Treasurer Dolch states that the DPW also needs a new cab for the Ventrac. The cost is about $6000. As with the Ventrac itself, this should get split over 3 accounts (snow, streets, and sidewalks – equipment). $2000 from A5142.200, Snow Equipment to A5110.200, Streets $1000 from A5142.200, Snow Equipment, to A5410.200, Sidewalks Resolution: 10048 BE IT RESOLVED THAT: the Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees authorizes and approves moving $3000 from A5142.200, Snow Equipment into Streets Equipment and Sidewalk Equipment to have enough in those accounts to purchase the new ventrac cab in the current fiscal year. Motion: Trustee Conway Second: Trustee Robinson Ayes: Mayor Woodard; Trustees: Biloski, Conway, Fleming, Hubbell, and Robinson Nays: none Abstentions: none Motion Carried •Treasurer Dolch states that the last thing on her report is for the Board to approve Abstract 11. Approval of Abstract 11: Resolution: 10049 BE IT RESOLVED THAT: the Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees authorizes and approves Abstract #11 for FYE2026, consisting of: TA vouchers 84-91 in the amount of $17,261.37, Consolidated Fund vouchers 727-809 in the amount of $282,385.48 Motion: Trustee Biloski Second: Trustee Hubbell Ayes: Mayor Woodard; Trustees: Biloski, Conway, Fleming, Hubbell, and Robinson Nays: none Abstentions: none Motion Carried •Trustee Conway states that the finance committee met and welcomed Trustee Biloski to the committee. •Trustee Conway states that we made it over the first hurdle on the Community Project Funding Grant, and in October, we will know if we were successful. •Trustee Conway states that the committee spent some time discussing the implications of the Iran conflict, and pricing for materials may affect final budget lines. 5 •Trustee Conway states that the administrative committee will discuss our policies on moving money from different funds so things can be handled consistently across all departments. 6. Report of Village Engineer: •Village Engineer B. Cross states that he does not have any action items at this time, but will touch on a list from Trustee Robinson. •Village Engineer B. Cross states that we are still waiting for NYSDOT to approve Hunt Engineers' design report. This delay is costing us a whole production year. •Village Engineer B. Cross states that the T.G. Miller water infrastructure project should be ready to be put out for bids and construction in 2027. •Village Engineer B. Cross states that we will soon be entering mowing season, and property owners need to be reminded that the Village does not participate in “No Mow May.” •Village Engineer B. Cross states that the Renwick Brook Culvert Replacement Project is moving forward. We have worked through a few insurance revisions, and the Village Attorney has reviewed all documents. We should be able to move forward with a construction meeting very soon. •Village Engineer B. Cross states that we are still waiting for our SPEDS permit from NYSDEC. •Village Engineer B. Cross states that the plant tour took place today. •Mayor Woodard states that the tour went very well and the attendees complimented plant manager Mike Albro. •Village Engineer B. Cross states that we are getting some information from the Town of Ithaca that would be interested in using a sewer camera that is part of our proposed grant that we submitted. •Village Engineer B. Cross states that there will be a “gang of six” meeting tomorrow in which we will be discussing the vacant land for sale next to the Village WWTP. •Mayor Woodard states that on that subject, the Plant-to-Plant agreement still has not been signed by the City of Ithaca. •Village Engineer B. Cross states that he has been closely working with the new Superintendent of Public Works, Craig Southard. He has been busy catching up on the history and different projects the Village is involved with. 7. Report of the Superintendent of Public Works Southard: •Superintendent of Public Works Southard states that the transition process has been going well. The time we spend together is going over the history of the Village and current projects, as well as meeting different staff members and members of the public. •Superintendent of Public Works Southard states that Tompkins County is going to provide us a free GIS License. The long-term goal is to update mapping and transition some of the older stuff from diamond maps to GIS. 6 •Superintendent of Public Works Southard states that he will be working on a cybersecurity plan for the Village WWTP. 8. Report of the Assistant Superintendent of Public Works Cowder: •Assistant Superintendent of Public Works Cowder states that street cleanup is in full swing. We are beginning to prep for paving as well. •Trustee Conway inquires about any possible race pattern changes for the CHES Fun Run 5k on May 3, 2026, starting at 9:00 a.m., since DDS has been working on Northway Road. •Assistant Superintendent of Public Works Cowder states that we will be doing two residential lead services soon. We have established a priority list for this coming year. •Assistant Superintendent of Public Works Cowder states that the siding of the salt barn is complete, and with the left over materials they built a awning over the gas pumps. 9. Report of Police Chief Wright: •Chief Wright states that since the Village Organizational Meeting, the Village Public Safety Committee is completely new with Trustees Fleming and Hubbell. Having trustee changes is a good thing, and he feels it helps give the Board members a broader understanding of how each department works. •Chief Wright states that it was a busy month with a lot of different complaints and investigations. •Trustee Hubbell states that since Trustee Salton is not here to talk about it, he will. Trustee Salton suggested that the Village participate in a mock emergency to walk through our emergency preparedness response since we are currently reformatting that with the county. •Chief Wright states that we (the fire department included) have the members already trained for these types of situations. He does not think there is a need to go to that length at this point. •Clerk Walker states that we also have an emergency response plan for health emergencies. This plan is similar to that. Deputy Clerk Perkins is currently working on simulating the current plan to match the county’s new format. •Trustee Hubbell states that we also touched on the FLOCK Camera systems. •Mayor Woodard states that the county just voted to cancel the FLOCK Camera system. •Chief Wright states that he has stated this before, but this is a huge loss. This was an extremely useful tool in saving lives and closing investigations. With the city and now the county getting rid of them, it only limits us even more. •Mayor Woodard asks Chief Wright if we own the FLOCK Cameras? •Chief Wright states that they were purchased with donation money so the Village would have control over the equipment. 7 •Trustee Conway states that the discussion of the elementary school on emergency preparedness a result of the flooding at the school? •Chief Wright states that the visit was just before the flooding. We visit not only the school but also the pre-school at the First Congregational Church, Kendal, and others. 9. Report of Fire Superintendent Tamborelle: •Fire Superintendent Tamborelle states that the kitchen project is complete and the bunkers are ecstatic. •Fire Superintendent Tamborelle states that all the AED’s have been distributed. •Fire Superintendent Tamborelle states that CPR classes are now being offered to Village staff and residents. •Fire Superintendent Tamborelle states that fire inspections are going well. He is halfway through them, and now he is finding out that several have changed hands. •Trustee Hubbell states that he appreciated the tour of the fire department and the new kitchen. 10. Report of Clerk Walker: •Clerk Walker states that it has been a busy month with all the meetings. He acknowledges that he rushed through the Organizational meeting minutes just to get them before the Board and apologizes for the few errors. •Clerk Walker states that he has been busy setting up the office for Craig and Brent, also providing new desktop and computer equipment. •Clerk Walker states that the office will be working with Bolton Point to relevy any outstanding water bills. The next step is for the office to add them to the tax roll for the June Village Property Taxes. •Clerk Walker states that he has been administering the oath of office for all staff members appointed for this new fiscal year. He has also linked the Village Code of Ethics for all staff members to review and complete the Village disclosure statement. •Clerk Walker states that the Village Administrative Committee will discuss changing the meeting time to take place before the Board meeting. 11. Report of Mayor Woodard: a. Arbor Day Proclamation: •Mayor Woodard states that there will be a tree planting on Friday, April 24, 9:30 p.m. in honor of Arbor Day. The Mayor will be reading the following proclamation: VILLAGE OF CAYUGA HEIGHTS 2026 ARBOR DAY PROCLAMATION 8 WHEREAS, Arbor Day was created in 1872 in Nebraska as a special day for planting and celebrating trees and is now celebrated throughout the United States; and WHEREAS, trees provide important benefits in urban communities such as shade and cooler temperatures, cleaner air and water, increased property values, and habitat for wildlife; and WHEREAS, the Village of Cayuga Heights has been certified as a Tree City USA by the Arbor Day Foundation in recognition of its commitment to protecting its trees and woodlands; now THEREFORE, I, Linda Woodard, Mayor of the Village of Cayuga Heights, on behalf of Village residents and the Board of Trustees, do hereby proclaim Friday, April 24, 2026, as Arbor Day in the Village of Cayuga Heights and urge all residents to protect and improve our environment and create a greener, healthier community by planting and caring for trees. •Mayor Woodard states that at 12:00 p.m., we will be giving away seedling trees at Marcham Hall. b. Village WWTP Tour: •Mayor Woodard states that the tour was well attended and once again, hats off to Mike Albro for his time. c. Town of Ithaca Fire Support Contract: •Mayor Woodard states that this is a five-year contract. We spent a little bit of time going over how money is allocated as expenses when our Village funding for the fire department is grant-related. We agreed that the first $5000 the Village would cover, and anything over that could be expensed to the Town of Ithaca. •Fire Superintendent & Chief Tamborelle states that we also agreed to start the contract in January 2027. d. City of Ithaca Plant to Plant Agreement: •Mayor Woodard states that we are still waiting for the City of Ithaca to move forward with this agreement. e. Tompkins County Historians Meeting Approval: •Mayor Woodard states that Village Historian Bea Szekely would like to host a Tompkins County Historians meeting here at Marcham Hall on May 9th, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. Resolution: 10050 BE IT RESOLVED THAT: the Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees authorizes and approves Village Historian B. Szekely to host a Tompkins County Historians Meeting at Marcham Hall on May 9, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. Motion: Trustee Conway Second: Trustee Hubbell Ayes: Mayor Woodard; Trustees: Biloski, Conway, Fleming, Hubbell, and Robinson Nays: none 9 Abstentions: none Motion Carried 12. Report of the Trustees: •Trustee Biloski states that one thing to mention is that we have recently installed panic buttons in the court clerk's office, Treasurer's office, and deputy clerk's office. •Trustee Biloski states that the H.R. Committee has been working through the Village PBA Union on contract discussions. 13. Report of Attorney O. Shah: •Village Attorney Shah states that he has nothing to report at this time. 14. Executive Session: Resolution: 10051 WHEREAS: The NYS Open Meeting Law §105 prescribes matters for which a public body may conduct an executive session; and, WHEREAS: Upon a majority vote of its total membership, taken in an open meeting under a motion identifying the general area or areas of the subject or subjects to be considered; and, WHEREAS: The conduct of an executive session for these enumerated purposes only, provided, however, that no action by formal vote shall be taken to appropriate public money: THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT An Executive Session of the Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees is conducted for subsection (F), the medical, financial, credit, or employment history of a particular person or corporation, or matters leading to the appointment, employment, promotion, demotion, discipline, suspension, dismissal, or removal of a particular person or corporation; Motion: Trustee Biloski Second: Trustee Fleming Ayes: Mayor Woodard; Trustees: Biloski, Conway, Fleming, Hubbell, and Robinson Nays: none Abstentions: none Motion Carried Village Board of Trustees exits an Executive Session and returns to an open meeting. Resolution: 10052 BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Village of Cayuga Heights Board of Trustees authorizes and approves appropriating $2500 to NYMIR Insurance Company as part of the deductible from account A1910.410 for pending litigation. 10 Motion: Trustee Conway Second: Trustee Robinson Ayes: Mayor Woodard; Trustees: Biloski, Conway, Fleming, Hubbell, and Robinson Nays: none Abstentions: none Motion Carried 14. Adjournment: Mayor Woodard adjourns the meeting at 9:09 p.m.