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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTB 2020-07-13 DRAFT MinutesDRAFT-PENDING BOARD APPROVAL Town Board_Minutes_20200713 •Monday, July 13, 2020 Page 1 of 5 Danby Town Board Minutes of Regular Meeting July 13, 2020, 7pm, via Zoom Videoconferencing Present: Councilpersons: Leslie Connors, Joel Gagnon (Supervisor), Jim Holahan, Sarah Schnabel, Matt Ulinski Others Present: Town Clerk Alexandra Pfeifer Justices’ Garry Huddle and Theresa Klinger Bookkeeper Laura Shawley Highway Sup’t Carl Seamon Planner Jason Haremza Code Officer Steve Cortright Public Wendall Buckman, Katharine Hunter, 1 phone number, Ted Crane, Ronda Roaring, Kevin Feeney Meeting Opened at 7:04 pm Additions and Deletions to the Agenda Clerk Pfeifer asked to delete the resolution re: Resolution to ask the Tompkins County Department of Health to resume the Rabies Clinics, because of a recent development that the DOH would be resuming the free rabies clinics on August 15 th. Wendell Buckman, the engineer for the Brown Rd. excavation project, is on hand to answer questions about the bid going to JB Excavation. Leslie Connors asked to remove six instances of extraneous wording re: special use permits from the Zoning Ordinance. She is hoping that in the next meeting this can be addressed a decision could be made re: this issue. Correspondence Dan Klein was unable to attend the TB meeting, so he sent t he following message to the Town Board (cc’ing the Clerk) on July 13, 2020 at 8:37am. Clerk Pfeifer read the message during the meeting. Hello Town Board, I will not be able to make tonight’s Town Board meeting. Here are a few things to report: Sales tax revenue is coming in about one -third lower than budgeted for. No one can predict if this level of decrease will continue for the rest of the year. For now, it might be a good number to use as a ballpark figure when making your sales tax reve nue estimate for your 2021 budget. We expect road work to be done on Coddington Rd starting in August. It would start on the County line, and proceed north for 2 to 4 miles. The work would consist of paving, canopy -clearing, and ditch work. This project is based on several assumptions: ● Our workforce returns as expected in August ● NYS CHIPS money comes in as promised to 80% of the originally budgeted amounts ● All highway projects are subject to weather and to other emergency road work situations that arise elsewhere in the county . Dan Klein Tompkins County Legislature, District 7 Ronda Roaring sent the following message via email to the Town Board and cc’ed the Clerk and Ted Crane. This message was sent on July 13, 2020 at 1:13pm. Town Board: I noticed that you are going to be discussing honoring James Herson and would like to make the following comments on the matter. DRAFT-PENDING BOARD APPROVAL Town Board_Minutes_20200713 •Monday, July 13, 2020 Page 2 of 5 1) Having appeared before him, I must say that I found his abilities as a town justice sub -standard. For example, he ruled against me but failed to notify me within the allotted time so that I could appeal his decision to a higher court. That's totally ina ppropriate. 2) I disapprove in general of politicians deciding to honor other politicians. (But there are certainly many examples where that has been done.) Politicians run on a platform. (You all have run on a platform, as have the town justices.) When politicians ho nor other politicians, they ignore the opinions of many voters with different platforms. So honoring that person ignores the views many in the Town. 3) The Town has no guidelines for honoring anyone. (We already honored one politician this year that many people disliked intensely.) I would like to see a mixed group of residents create a set of guidelines for honoring people. Let the people decided who they want to honor and under what circumstances. For your reference: https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R43539 Ronda Roaring Privilege of the Floor Ted Crane mentioned that on Sunday, July 19, 2020, that the DCC would be hosting an event about spring and summer wildflowers and given by Robert Wesley, who is an expert on wildflowers. Awarding of Bid to JB Excavation for the Brown Rd. Project Wendell Buckman, from the engineering firm Barton and LeJunta, was available to the board to answer questions regarding the Brown Rd. bid results. He said that JB Excavation won the proposal, and that the award should go through in 4 weeks time (mid -August). Buckman mentioned that he has worked with JB excavation before, and that he was happy with their work. He also added that JB Excavation fulfills the requirement of the grant re: women and minority owned businesses; the firm uses vendors that support the percentage of the state requirement. Ulinksi asked Buckman if he had insights to why the bid from JB Excavation was a half a million dollars less than the other bids. Buckman replied that it was because the owner owns his own quarry and can supply rock at cost. Buckman reiterated that JB Exca vation is well-regarded around the crew and that the owner stands behind his work. Buckman recalled an instance where he fixed something that was damaged no questions asked. The board asked Shawley to make sure that the money will be available for the bid and that the wording be in the resolution. Buckman also assured the board that he would look at the contracts and double check that the grant money for the award would come t hrough. He said that he would make phone calls and make sure that the money was available and that procedures were followed. RESOLUTION N O. 66 OF 2020 - AWARDING BID OF BROWN RD. PROJECT TO JB EXCAVATION Be It Resolved , that the Town Board of the Town of Danby accepts and awards the bid to JB Excavation for the Brown Rd. Project subject to Laura Shawley’s confirmation that the funds are available. Moved by Ulinski, Second by Connors. The motion passed. In Favor: Connors, Holahan, Schnabel, Ulinski, Gagnon Approval of Minutes-the approval of minutes were postponed until the July 22 nd meeting. Justices’ Report Justice Huddle stated that the monthly reports for the month of June were handed to the Clerk. He added that some payments have been made and that last week three defendants came into the courtroom. He also remarked that the court was following procedures such as one person coming in at a time and taking temperatures before being admitted to the courtroom. Additionally, the court submitted the grant for the reimbursement of the PPE, which included the cost for the hand sanitizer, sneeze shields, and thermometer. The Justices’ asked Shawley to look out for the reimbursement from the state. Code Report Cortright said that he emailed his report to the Clerk and the board this morning, and wondered if they had had a chance to review it. He wondered if he should read it out or if it could be made public for their perusal. Cortright reported that this was an active month and that the year to date total was higher than last year at this time. He also mentioned that he has been writing articles in the DAN in order to educate DRAFT-PENDING BOARD APPROVAL Town Board_Minutes_20200713 •Monday, July 13, 2020 Page 3 of 5 the public on building permits. He added that he wrote an article on what requires a permit, and that he also wrote an article about what doesn’t require a permit. Planner Report Haremza reported about his activity in June, which included the removal of statements dealing with special permits, in which there are six instances in the Zoning Ordinance. He added that the attorney also recommended the removal of these items. He also wo ndered about logistics of the public hearing and would like this topic to be put on the first TB meeting in August’s Agenda. Ulinski had comments on the logging ordinance, saying that it has been on hold since CJ Randall left. He requested that this issue be brought up again, with George Adams taking a lead role. Ulinski said that the logging ordinance took on a three pronged ap proach, which consisted of road usage, permitting, and education. He asked that these groups get moving again on this issue. Haremza also reported that the Planning Group webpage has a new, simpler URL address as well as a page for each working group. He added that the Conservation group expanded the regulations on water resources and groundwater. The Hamlet Revitalization group was working on geographic definitions of zoning, and the Tax Policy’s Tax Abatement Proposal has been reviewed by the CAC and Planning Board. Haremza then gave an update on Howland Rd., in which he asked for a meeting with the property owner, but instead was contacted by legal counsel. Haremza added that he has an appointment with the property owner’s lawyer, and will go from there. Town Clerk’s Report The Town Clerk, citing the TC DOH free rabies clinic on August 15th, said that she would send out emails and a letter to residents containing the information about the rabies clinic, since, if a rabies vaccine is not up to date, dog owners are unable to re new their dog licenses. For the month of June, 2020, the Clerk reported that she paid $1,794.65 to the Supervisor for the General Fund. She also sent $18.00 to the NYS Spay and Neuter program for Animal Population Control. There were no Marriage licenses issued this month. She al so reported that there was one Certified Copy for $10.00, two Planning Fees for $295.00, 19 Dog Licenses renewed or issued for $225.00, 14 Building Permits for $1,263.65, and one Information Request for $1.00. Warrants RESOLUTION NO . 67 OF 2020-W EST DANBY WATER DISTRICT F UND #20 for a total of $95.25 Moved by Schnabel, Second by Connors. The motion passed. In Favor: Connors, Holahan,Schnabel, Ulinski, Gagnon RESOLUTION NO . 68 OF 2020-G ENERAL FUND #238-256 for a total $10, 647.90 Moved by Schnabel, Second by Holahan. The motion passed. In Favor: Connors, Holahan, Schnabel, Ulinski, Gagnon RESOLUTION NO . 69 OF 2020-HIGHWAY FUND #119-132 for a total $7,664.89 Moved by Ulinski, Second by Connors. The motion passed. In Favor: Connors, Holahan, Schnabel, Ulinski, Gagnon Speed Limits/Road Safety Gagnon proposed forming a Speed Limit/Road Safety/Traffic Calming Committee to address the problem of speeding and to promote road safety on Danby’s roads. He mentioned that the town of Caroline has speed sensors on their roads as well as speed bumps. Gagnon cited Ulinski and Connor’s efforts so far on this issue by making lists of complaints from residents about their roads and by also looping in the Sheriff re: the speed limit issue. It was also recommended that residents identify specific instances and t imes on roads was imperative to help maintain a list of problem areas. Crane commented that a problem area was on Comfort Rd. by Stork between 3:30 -4pm. It was agreed that having a committee was a good idea and to keep putting in requests to the State to lower the speed limits on the Town roads that are experiencing speeding problems. DRAFT-PENDING BOARD APPROVAL Town Board_Minutes_20200713 •Monday, July 13, 2020 Page 4 of 5 Expanding Highway Superintendent Residency Requirements Gagnon recounted that the TB has gone through 2 rounds of proposals to change the Highway Superintendent to be an appointed position rather than elected position, and that it has been rejected by voters both times. Crane also reminded the TB that it came u p for proposal a third time, but did not make it to the public hearing stage. Gagnon said that expanding the residency requirements is a step that would allow those who have worked at the Highway Department to “step up” and run if they like. Ulinski remarked that the Highway Superintendent is an elected position, and is also one whi ch requires an experienced person to do the job. It was reiterated that Danby residents can still run for the office, but that by expanding the residency requirements, the pool of those wishing to run would be expanded. It would also give those who have given many years of hard work and dedication to the Town the chance to run if they wished. Ulinksi supported the change in the residency requirements, and wondered how large the radius should be --25 miles? 30 miles? Town of Danby Appointment Procedure The TB continued reviewing the Appointment procedure via screen sharing the document and going through each edited section and point. Ulinski asked that each board and committee, such as the CAC, BZA, and Planning Board create a document describing what be ing on each board entails (responsibilities), and making sure that it includes a legal description of the board and the day to day operations, such as how much time to dedicate to meetings and the benefits of serving on a Town board/committee. Gagnon requested that the Ethics policy and Email policy be readily available to those who are members of the Town boards and committees. It was mentioned that they are public documents, so they would be posted on the website in any case. RESOLUTION NO. 70 OF 2020 - ADOPTION OF APPOINTMENT PROCEDURES Be It Resolved , that the Town Board of the Town of Danby adopts the Appointment Procedures with amendments. The Appointment Procedure will be reviewed every January. Moved by Connors, Second by Schnabel. The motion passed. In Favor: Connors, Holahan, Schnabel, Ulinski, Gagnon Resolution Honoring James Herson for his service to the Town of Danby A letter was sent to the family from the Supervisor, honoring James Herson for his years of service to the Town of Danby. Before the vote, Schnabel asked to consider what Ronda Roaring wrote in her email re: honoring politicians for their service. Schnabel wondered what the guidelines were for who and how they were chosen, and would like to see a proposed set of criteria and discuss who is eligible for these commendations (boards, committees, elected offices), and if there should be a town policy to follow re: this issue. RESOLUTION NO. 71 OF 2020 - MEMORIAL RESOLUTION FOR JAMES M. HERSON SR. MEMORIAL RESOLUTION JAMES M. HERSON, SR. (1930 – 2020) WHEREAS, the Danby community lost a respected member of the Town with the passing of the Hon. James M. Herson, Sr. on June 24, 2020; and WHEREAS, he was elected as Town Justice for the Town of Danby in 1987; and WHEREAS, the Hon. James M. Herson, Sr. sat on the bench for 20 years; and WHEREAS, he had a life-long commitment to bringing justice to the people and faithfully served with honor and distinction as Town Justice and; WHEREAS, he served as the Clerk of the Court from 2008 until 2014 dedicating over 25 years to the Town of Danby; and Remembering these services and the spirit in which they were rendered, DRAFT-PENDING BOARD APPROVAL Town Board_Minutes_20200713 •Monday, July 13, 2020 Page 5 of 5 BE IT RESOLVED that it is with a sense of deep appreciation of his loyalty, contributions and his valuable service to the Town of Danby Court, the Danby Town Board acknowledges the memory of James M. Herson, Sr.; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this acknowledgement, with an expression of sympathy from this Board be conveyed to Jim’s family. DATED: ____________________________________ Joel Gagnon, Town Supervisor Town of Danby Moved by Ulinski, Second by Connors. The motion passed. In Favor: Connors, Holahan, Schnabel, Ulinski, Gagnon Flag Policy The Flag Policy discussion was postponed until the July 22nd meeting so that it could be re -circulated among the board again for comments. WVPP (Workplace Violence Policies and Procedures) Update Ulinski gave an update on the WVPP, in which he was asking for more comments on the policy, but would still like the policy to be voted on next week so that the policy could be adopted in order to start on implementing the policies and procedures. He asked for comments by the weekend, and also reiterated that the WVPP is required by law, which is why he hired a consultant (Gina Lord) in order to get this done correctly and that it is actually done. He added that the implementation committee consisted of a member from the Highway Department, Steve Cortright (Code Officer), Town Clerk, a Board member, and possibly a member of the Court and the Library. The implementation committee would implement a survey of what needs to be done in the Town Hall to create a s afer environment. for employees. Adjournment The meeting adjourned at 9:08pm. ______________________________________ Alexandra Pfeifer, Town Clerk