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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-07-01 Town Board Minutes, DRAFT Town Board Regular Meeting and Public Hearing Monday July 1, 2024 at 6:00PM Mary Ann Barr 2021 The Town of Danby 1830 Danby Road Ithaca, NY 14850 danby.ny.gov , Board Members Present: Joel Gagnon, Town Supervisor Katharine Hunter Patricia Woodworth Paul Hansen Leslie Connors (Attending via Zoom) Town Staff: Mariah Dillon, Town Clerk Greg Hutnik, Town Planner Steve Cortright, Code Officer Laura Shawley, Bookkeeper Other Attendees: Tim Steed, Hunt Engineering Marrell Cortright Alton Ainsley Mark Andrews Anne Ainsley Cheryl Andrews Ted Crane Jim Holahan Ronda Roaring Captain Tilton Erin Caruth Zach Larkins Public Hearing on the CDBG Housing Rehabilitation Grant Application Opened at 6:03 PM All those who spoke at the public hearing: In Favor Against Other Alton Ainsley Mark Andrews Anne Ainsley Ted Crane Closed at 6:24 PM Connors asked if there was a mechanism for getting feedback from the recipients of prior grants. Hutnik said that when the current grant cycle is complete, the recipients could be polled/surveyed as to their experience with the grants. 1. Call to Order 2. Additions/Deletions to Agenda ~ Moved to Business 3. Privilege of the Floor Ronda Roaring wanted to clear up something that was in the most recent Danby Town News regarding hiking on Jennings Pond hiking trails. “The pond and the trails do not belong to Danby, they belong to Page 2 the state legislature, who tomorrow, if they chose to do so, could fill in Jennings Pond. So, we have to be careful not to misspeak on who owns the pond, the trail and the park.” Ted Crane requested several corrections to the prior town board meeting minutes. The first point was regarding the Privilege of the Ploor. “The point of what I was saying there was that had that email been the person's private email, it would have subjected their entire email history to foil, and that was very dangerous. That was the point of it, not what is written in the minutes, speaking of which I then continued, which is not mentioned. To say that I said that the I saw a proposed document online, which I took to be attached to the minutes, attached to the meeting agenda, which I took to be what the board intended to do. And I basically praised it because it kept every made email accounts available for everyone so they would not be subjected to the danger of hav ing their personal, private emails FOIled. I was then informed that the document that was attached to the minutes was not what was being proposed, but was the proposals were something else entirely, and of course, that went in a different direction. So I would very much appreciate if in the future, a document like that would be clearly labeled current policy or proposed policy, and since you had been discussing the policy for a while, there should have been a proposed policy. Further down in the minutes, Supervisor Gagnon asked crane for an explanation. Well, the response that was given was considerably more complex than what is reported there. The reasons that my response involved several different reasons, and I would like the minutes to be corrected to include all of what I said, not one that someone might take as fairly prejudicial. Let's see what's on my list right here. Yeah, this process to appoint a secretary. I thought the town had of a appointment policy which was quite detailed, and it's this is no t the first time that you had to re decide what the process is on the spot. It makes one wonder what you are trying to achieve by having an appointment policy and then doing something that isn't in the appointment policy. More reasons. Anyway, those, those are my points about the minutes, and I just would like to add one last small thing about the town board news, it's my understanding from long time ago that there is, in fact, a law that says that the town shall not expend funds except on things that are relevant to the town in terms of publications, I'm sure that a good lawyer could come up with a plausible and maybe even legal explanation for why you chose to publicize the Annual Meeting of a corporation which is not the town in the town board news, I think that that the while Trump doesn't, excuse me, the Supreme Court says the president, the state of mind of the President is not relevant to whether waited, he does is legal. I think you really should consider what was the state of mind where you felt it necessary to do that, especially after having been told that there would be publicity, there would be publicity in the proper venues, if you will.” 4. Correspondence - None 5. Announcements • Hunter announced that the Danby Fire Department received high praise for fighting a fire in Enfield. She also praised the great turnout for helping with recent storm damage. • Ganon announced that the Town received a grant from Tompkins County to hire CDBG Grant Writing Assistance. 6. Reports & Presentations Tim Steed of Hunt Engineering was delayed and spoke later in the meeting. 6.1. Town Clerk Report 6.2. Code Enforcement Officer Report 6.3. Town Planner was delayed and spoke later in the meeting. 7. Meeting Minutes Page 3 7.1. Resolution 171 of 2024 to Approve of June 17, 2024, Town Board Meeting Minutes Moved By Woodworth Seconded by Hansen Roll Call: Connors Yes Hansen Yes Hunter Yes Woodworth Yes Gagnon Yes Resolution 171 of 2024 passed on July 1, 2024 Town Planners Report Planning Board: June 18 - Approved a Site Plan for single family home at 2016 Danby Road July 16 ○ Public hearing scheduled for Temporary Coffee Cart at 1914 Danby Road ○ Review of a minor subdivision proposal for 405 Troy Road (70-acre parcel); conservation easement with the Town being pursued in tandem Board of Zoning Appeals ● June 25 - Approved an area variance for 1914 Danby Road to allow a restaurant to operate. CDBG 2024 Housing Grant Application Due July 28 The owner of 153 South Danby Rd has been charged for hosting the un-permitted music festival held last August. A court date is scheduled for July 31. Meeting was paused for a brief book recommendation. 8. Warrant Abstract No. 12 of 2024 8.1. Resolution 172 of 2024 to Approve General Fund Vouchers 194 – 205 for $6,197.59 Moved By Woodworth Seconded by Connors Roll Call: Connors Yes Hansen Yes Hunter Yes Woodworth Yes Gagnon Yes Resolution 172 of 2024 passed on July 1, 2024 8.2. Resolution 173 of 2024 to Approve Highway Fund Vouchers 108–118 for $10,199.62 Moved By Connors Seconded by Woodworth Roll Call: Connors Yes Hansen Yes Hunter Yes Woodworth Yes Gagnon Yes Resolution 173 of 2024 passed on July 1, 2024 Page 4 9. Business 9.1. ARPA Info Update Hansen passed out and discussed a plan for the front of Town Hall that included an accessible ramp. He described the new ramp: If you're looking at the main entrance, the ramp would be on the left, and it would wrap around the building, coming into the parking lot, where the charging station is now. Hansen will try to get quotes for the next meeting. Supervisor Gagnon mentioned that the Highway Department had received some quotes for a new Roller and that was on the list of ARPA projects and is ready for action later in the meeting. Connors asked what the process is for getting the ARPA funds. Gagnon replied that the funds are in the bank, and we need to report on how the Town is spending it. Connors brought up the office /shed for the Water District, which is also later in the agenda. The Hydrant Replacement project was also brought up. Marrell Cortright commented that the WDWD had contacted four people so far and that none could do both the procurement and installation of the hydrants. Marrell Cortright will follow up with the Water District Operator. 9.2. DePutron Road Renumbering Code Enforcement Officer Cortright presented a handout of the current jumble of property addresses on DePutron Road, and the proposed new numbering system. He noted that this would be very inconvenient for the current property owners on the road, but that someone wanted to build a home on a site that had the same address as another home on DePutron Hollow. Hansen recommended a personal touch to lessen the impact on residents. Discussion ensued regarding who is the authority of house numbers (911 system), and who, and how, to inform the property owners of the new addressing system. There are about sixteen property owners who will be impacted by the change, about half in the Town of Caroline and half in Danby. Supervisor Gagnon explained that a letter needed to be sent explaining the why and how of changing the address numbers. Discussion ensued regarding the usefulness of a public hearing, although it’s only for a few residents and would not solve the problem of duplicate and unordered addresses. Hansen assured Cortright that this was a Town Board/ Town Supervisor decision and should not come from the Code Officer. Cortright described the process for changing property numbers: “If we proceed forward, I’ll have to file each and every one of these addresses on an address change form with Tompkins County GIS, they plot them via satellite to make sure that they're good with it. I've already run this map past that person, and she gave me an unofficial thumbs up. And then it was shared with 911, and they reviewed it, and they said, it looks good. So once the addresses come back approved county GIS, that's when we would send the letters to the residents. The addresses would automatically, through GIS, get shared with Department of Emergency Response and Assessment, and maybe a couple of other county agencies I would have to send West Danby, Danby and Brooklyn Dale fire departments address notification letters. And the Brooklyn Dale post office Address Notification Letters, which the Brooklyn Dale post office is going to ignore, because they do not support this.” Hunter asked about tax bills going to the correct address. Cortright explained that if a resident did not complete a Change of Address form with the post office, then the Tax Bill may not get to the property owners. Hunter wanted this information added to any letter a property owner might get. Page 5 Supervisor Gagnon proposed that the Town Board consider at the next meeting a resolution for action, which would then trigger the need to send a letter, to tell residents what is being considered. He also mentioned the Caroline Supervisor was pushing to get this done. Tim Steed of Hunt Engineering on the Wastewater Treatment Options Study Steed gave a brief overview of the engineering evaluation of looking at providing municipal wastewater services to the West Danby and central hamlet area. For the approximately thirty homes in the central hamlet, the cost would be about 3 million, although grants may be available. Discussion ensued about possible funding and budgeting. Steed recommending applying for a WQIP grant and mentioned that other grants and funding opportunities may be available, most notably the New York State Environmental Facilities, WIIA program, which is a Water Infrastructure Improvement Act. Discussion ensued about growth in the hamlet area and space for sewers in small lots. Steed mentioned that if you build a water and sewer system, all those individuals that are potentially served must pay their share of the capital cost. Discussion continued regarding the benefits and efforts of a shared system. The next steps would be to have Tim Steed/ Hunt Engineering apply for WQIP grants on behalf of the Town. Resolution 174 of 2024 To Support Tim Steed in Applying for the Water Quality Improvement Program Grant on the Behalf of the Town Board Moved By Gagnon Seconded by Woodworth Roll Call: Connors Yes Hansen No Hunter Yes Woodworth Yes Gagnon Yes Resolution 174 of 2024 passed on July 1, 2024 Steed told the group he would get them a summary of the questions and answers. Resolution 175 of 2024 to Extend the Meeting 15 Minutes Moved By Hunter Seconded by Connors Roll Call: Connors Yes Hansen Yes Hunter Yes Woodworth Yes Gagnon Yes Resolution 175 of 2024 passed on July 1, 2024 9.3. Resolution 176 of 2024 to Move the September TB Meetings to the 9th and 23rd Moved By Gagnon Seconded by Woodworth Roll Call: Connors Yes Hansen Yes Page 6 Hunter Yes Woodworth Yes Gagnon Yes Resolution 176 of 2024 passed on July 1, 2024 9.4. West Danby Office Building M Cortright presented her research and provided several quotes, although only one is willing to meet the requirements of the current building codes. This quote comes in just under $15,000. Resolution 177 of 2024 to Approve the West Danby Office Building with ARPA Funds Moved By Woodworth Seconded by Connors Roll Call: Connors Yes Hansen Yes Hunter Yes Woodworth Yes Gagnon Yes Resolution 177 of 2024 passed on July 1, 2024 9.5. RESOLUTION NO. 178 OF 2024 APPROVAL BY THE TOWN BOARD TO PURCHASE A VOLVO ROLLER FROM ALTA CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT NY LLC. WHEREAS: the Highway Superintendent has determined that the current roller that is being used on highway projects should be replaced. This piece of equipment is 35 years old and a newer machine is needed to get the job done safely and efficiently, and WHEREAS: six quotes were obtained and it was determined that the best choice for the town’s needs is a Volvo SD115 Single Drum Compactor Roller from Alta Construction Equipment. This purchase will be through a NYS Office of General Services Contract award. This machine comes with a two year, full warranty, and WHEREAS: the Town Board has already approved the use of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Funds to make this purchase, now therefore be it RESOLVED: the Town Board gives permission for the Highway Superintendent to enter into the purchase of the Volvo SD115 Roller from Alta Construction Equipment NY LLC, for the amount of $150,592. This purchase will be funded using the ARPA funds that have been allotted to the Town of Danby. Moved By Gagnon Seconded by Hunter Roll Call: Connors Yes Hansen Yes Hunter Yes Woodworth Yes Gagnon Yes Resolution 178 of 2024 passed on July 1, 2024 Page 7 9.6. Process for Appointing a CAC Secretary Supervisor Gagnon noted that three applications were received for the CAC secretary. He suggested having all three applicants show up at the next CAC meeting to take minutes and compare how they do. Connor suggested they come to the next CAC meeting, introduce themselves, provide background information and get a feel for CAC business. It was agreed that references would be checked before an appointment is made. Gagnon will ask the applicants to attend the next CAC meeting to introduce themselves. 9.7. Microsoft Training Dillon will hold a Microsoft Office training session on Wednesday, July 3rd at 11:00 AM. All Danby staff and committee members are welcome to attend. 10. Adjourn