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Home My WebLink About2020-06-17 Town Board MinutesFINAL-PENDING BOARD APPROVAL Danby Town Board Minutes of Regular Meeting June 17, 2020 via Zoom Video Conferencing Present: Councilpersons: Leslie Connors, Joel Gagnon (Supervisor), Jim Holahan, Sarah Schnabel, Matt Ulinski Others Present: Town Clerk Alexandra Pfeifer Justice Garry Huddle Bookkeeper Laura Shawley Planner Jason Haremza Legislator Dan Klein Public Kent (no last name given), Ted Crane, Ronda Roaring, Michelle (no last name given), Shelley Lester, Melis Schildkraut, Bill Evans, Katharine Hunter, Bruce Richards, Raemond Runs (?), Fire Tablet, PiPhone Meeting Opened at 7:02 pm Additions and Deletions to the Agenda Ullinski proposed two resolutions-one for allowing the Pride Flag to fly on the Town Hall in June and the other for allowing the BLM sign in front of Town Hall in order to show that the Town fully supports these issues/causes. He also proposed a flag policy that he is drafting with Guy Krogh, and he will bring it to the board next month. Other additions include a report and discussion on the Howland Rd. hemp operation and Holahan requesting that a news item acknowledging Juneteenth (June 19) be posted on the website. He added that Governor Cuomo made an executive order making Juneteenth a state holiday and requested that an acknowledgment of Juneteenth be included with the BLM resolution. Privilege of the Floor Gary Huddle reported that the State will reimburse the Town for buying PPE (personal protective equipment) for the court. Ronda Roaring asked for a report from the Town’s Director of HR re: the hiring of the Deputy Town Clerk (Joanna Shawley). She felt uncomfortable because Shawley’s hire equates to three people with the same last name as employees of the Town. Clerk Pfeifer defended the hiring, telling Roaring that it was done above board and that Shawley fulfilled the requirements for the position. Ted Crane reminded attendees that next Tuesday is the primary, and that you can vote in person as well as vote by absentee ballot. He added that on Sunday, the Community Council was putting on a concert at 7:30 via Zoom featuring Pamela Goddard with harp and song. Katharine Hunter agreed with Ronda Roaring’s comments re: the hiring of Joanna Shawley as Deputy Town Clerk and said that it made her uncomfortable, too. Warrants RESOLUTION NO. 56 OF 2020-GENERAL FUND #216-237 for a total of $18,177.80 Moved by Ulinski, Second by Connors. The motion passed. In Favor: Connors, Holahan, Schnabel, Ulinski, Gagnon [Clerk’s note: the following budget transfer resolution took place in between warrants. During the discussion of this resolution, two of the items were reallocated from different lines (funds were transferred from the Pond Program instead of the Contingency). This change is reflected in the resolution below.] RESOLUTION NO. 57 OF 2020- APPROVAL FROM THE TOWN BOARD TO TRANSFER BUDGET AMOUNTS BETWEEN FUNDS TO COVER EXPENSES. WHEREAS: there are times when expenditures in certain line items throughout the year can exceed the budget. Town Board_Minutes_20200617 • DATE \@ "dddd, MMMM d, y" Wednesday, June 17, 2020 Page PAGE 4 of NUMPAGES 4 FINAL-PENDING BOARD APPROVAL WHEREAS: the Town Board has the authority to transfer budget amounts between accounts to cover the expenses that exceed the budgeted amount. RESOLVED: the Town Board approves the following transfers between accounts: From A1010.400 (TB Contr.) to A3310.400 (Traffic Control) for $2,000 From A7150.400 (Pond Program) to A1910.400 (Unalloc. Ins.) for $1,000 From A1620.410 (Info. Tech.) to A1410.400 (T. Clerk Contr.) for $ 720 From A7150.400 (Pond Program) to A1410.400 (T.Clerk Contr.) for $ 560 ALSO RESOLVED: the Town Board approves that the amount of the expenditure for envelopes that was charged to A1410.400 (Town Clerk Contr.) be removed from that account and charged to A1345.400 (Building Purchasing) in the amount of $364.40. These envelopes are used by the entire staff and not just the Town Clerk’s office. Moved by Ulinski, Second by Connors. The motion passed. In Favor: Connors, Holahan, Schnabel, Ulinski, Gagnon RESOLUTION NO. 58 OF 2020- HIGHWAY FUND #111-117 for a total of $18, 181.29 Moved by Schnabel, Second by Holahan. The motion passed. In Favor: Connors, Holahan, Schnabel, Ulinski, Gagnon RESOLUTION NO. 59 OF 2020- WEST DANBY WATER DISTRICT FUND #16-19 for a total $377.00 Moved by Connors, Second by Holahan. The motion passed. In Favor: Connors, Holahan, Schnabel, Ulinski, Gagnon Town Hall Use for Youth Programs Melis Schildkraut (Youth Program Manager of the Danby Youth Program) and Shelly Lester (Director of Rural Youth Services) , as well as Katharine Hunter and Ted Crane, both of the DCC, addressed the board regarding Town Hall Use for Youth Programs. Hunter mentioned that having this discussion will clean up confusion re: the Youth Program use of the Town Hall and that the DCC also discussed this issue at their meeting. Schildkraut emphasized that the Youth Program would most likely not use the space, but that it was needed as an emergency contingency because of the unknowns surrounding the summer program. Lester assured the TB that the Youth Program followed CDC and NYS health guidelines and that the participants of the program would only enter the building if it was unsafe to be outside of the building (severe thunderstorms, etc.). She added that there was a threshold for cancellation, and would cancel the program if it passed the threshold. Schildkraut voiced her commitment to follow the Town safety protocols put in place. Lester also reiterated that the children would be masked and screened daily for symptoms and their temperature taken with a touchless thermometer. Lester also said that bathrooms would only be used in an extreme emergency situation. The resolution was proposed with an exception carved out specifically for the Youth Program, and, as such, would be granted access with the key to the building from the lock box. RESOLUTION NO. 60 OF 2020 -AUTHORIZATION TO ALLOW YOUTH PROGRAMS TO USE THE TOWN HALL Now Therefore, Be It Resolved, that the Town Board of the Town of Danby approves the Youth Program use of the Town Hall.. Resolved, as an exception to the Town Hall safety plan, only Youth Programming will be able to use the Town Hall for programming, as they have provided a plan to the Town Board. Moved by Ulinski, Second by Holahan. The motion passed. In Favor: Connors, Holahan, Schnabel, Ulinski, Gagnon Rules and Procedures for Town Board Meetings In an extensive discussion, the TB went through each section that had been edited from the previous review of the Rules and Procedures. Schnabel noted that she added the edits that Ronda Roaring suggested (such as making the grammar and punctuation consistent) and also removing antiquated phrases such as “be and the same.” The board discussed each edit and decided whether to keep or amend it, until, due to time constraints, Ulinski asked if the discussion could be held offline and amend the document at a later date with the aforementioned edits. Town Board_Minutes_20200617 • DATE \@ "dddd, MMMM d, y" Wednesday, June 17, 2020 Page PAGE 4 of NUMPAGES 4 FINAL-PENDING BOARD APPROVAL RESOLUTION NO. 61 OF 2020-TO ADOPT THE RULES AND PROCEDURES FOR TOWN BOARD MEETINGS Be It Resolved, that the Town Board of the Town of Danby adopt the Rule and Procedures for Town Board Meetings as amended. Moved by Schnabel, Second by Holahan. The motion passed. In Favor: Connors, Holahan, Schnabel, Ulinski, Gagnon Acknowledgement of Joanna Shawley as Deputy Town Clerk Schnabel voiced her concern about “optics” re: Danby now having three employees with the same last name. After Clerk Pfeifer once again said that the hiring process was above board, Shawley recounted how Pfeifer called her to ask if she needed to advertise the position again or if she could go through and hire someone from the applicant pool. Per the conversation with Pfeifer, Shawley called the Tompkins County personnel department and asked if the position needed to be re-posted or if Pfeifer could hire someone from the applicants. The position did not need to be re-posted. Pfeifer once again defended her hiring decision, stating that Shawley is qualified for the position. RESOLUTION NO. 62 OF 2020- ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF JOANNA SHAWLEY AS DEPUTY TOWN CLERK Be It Resolved, that the Town Board of the Town of Danby acknowledges Joanna Shawley as Deputy Town Clerk. Moved by Schnabel, Second by Holahan. The motion passed. In Favor: Connors, Holahan, Schnabel, Ulinski, Gagnon Pride Flag and Juneteenth Resolutions RESOLUTION NO. 63 OF 2020-APPROVAL TO FLY THE PRIDE FLAG IN CELEBRATATION OF JUNE 2020 AS LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER, QUEER, INTERSEX AND ASEXUAL + (LGBTQIA+) PRIDE MONTH. WHEREAS: the Town of Danby supports the human rights, dignity, and respect of all people. RESOLVED: that the Town Board of the Town of Danby hereby calls upon our community to join us in celebrating the contributions of our LGBTQIA+ residents and visitors and to renew our commitment to eliminating prejudice everywhere it exists, and proclaims June 2020 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex And Asexual + Pride Month in the Town of Danby, and be it further RESOLVED: that the Town Board of the Town of Danby authorizes that the Pride/Rainbow Flag be flown on the Town of Danby's flagpole during Pride Month (June) in 2020 as a symbol of our steadfast belief in the equal dignity of all people. Moved by Ulinski, Second by Schnabel. The motion passed. In Favor: Connors, Holahan, Schnabel, Ulinski, Gagnon RESOLUTION NO. 64 OF 2020- APPROVAL TO POST THE BLACK LIVES MATTER SIGN ON TOWN HALL NEEDS RESOLUTION LANGUAGE FROM MATT Moved by Ulinski, Second by Schnabel. The motion passed. In Favor: Connors, Holahan, Schnabel, Ulinski, Gagnon Appointment Procedure In the interest of time, that the appointment procedure review and discussion was postponed until the next regular meeting of the board. CCA Update Holahan gave a quick update on CCA (Community Choice Aggregation). Holahan said there was a video presentation on this issue from the county-wide energy commission that he worked on a couple of years ago, and that it would be worth revisiting. Report and Update Howland Rd. Hemp Operation Town Board_Minutes_20200617 • DATE \@ "dddd, MMMM d, y" Wednesday, June 17, 2020 Page PAGE 4 of NUMPAGES 4 FINAL-PENDING BOARD APPROVAL Haremza said that the letter that he sent First Class Mail was not accepted, and asked what to do next. Haremza explained the lack of communication with the owner/operator, noting that he and Bruce Richards visited the site at the end of January, and requested a follow-up meeting, but there was no response. Haremza asked the TB whether to send the original letter along with a new letter and if so, what should the letter say? He also added that he could take action by making sure the notice was received by using a Tompkins County Sheriff to serve the document, which would cost $50. After some discussion it was determined that Haremza would work with Cortright to figure out what to say in the next letter, in which the history of previous efforts to contact the owner/operator would be cataloged. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 9:29 pm. ______________________________________ Alexandra Pfeifer, Town Clerk Town Board_Minutes_20200617 • DATE \@ "dddd, MMMM d, y" Wednesday, June 17, 2020 Page PAGE 4 of NUMPAGES 4