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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002-01-09TB 01 -09-02 TOWN OF DRYDEN TOWN BOARD MEETLIVG JANUARY 9, 2002 Board Members Present: Supv Mark Varvayanis, Cl Stephen Stelick, Jr., Cl Charles Hatfield, Cl Christopher Michaels, Cl Deborah Grantham Other Elected Officials: Bambi L. Hollenbeck, Town Clerk Jack Bush, Highway Superintendent Other Town Staff: Mahlon R. Perkins, Town Attorney Kevin Ezell, Zoning Officer David Putnam (TG Millers), Town Engineer Supv Varvayanis opened the Town Board meeting at 7:05 p.m. RESOLUTION #70 - APPROVE ABSTRACT # 101 Cl Hatfield offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby approves Abstract #10 1 as audited, vouchers #1 through #69, totaling $335,607.03. 2nd Cl Grantham Roll Call Vote Cl Hatfield Yes Cl Stelick Yes Supv Varvayanis Yes C1 Michaels Yes Cl Grantham Yes CITIZENS PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR Eugene Madsen, 289 Bone Plain Road, addressed the board regarding a parcel of land (tax map #52. -1 -28) he recently purchased. He previously delivered a memo to the board regarding the matter. Mr. Madsen was surprised to find when he received his tax bill that he had been assessed special district charges for the Turkey Mill Water & Sewer Districts and his tax bill had increased from about $400 last year to about $4,000 this year. He asked the Board to help him recognize the error and perhaps correct it. The parcel has previously been exempted each year upon request of the previous owner. Atty Perkins stated that from the information he has it appears that part of the parcel in question is within the Turkey Hill Water District and Turkey Hill Sewer District. Not all the assessed value, acres or units are within the district. In that sense there is obviously an error in computing the benefit assessment which would be attributable to this parcel because only part of it is in the district. That was never a problem until this year, no adjustment had to be made because annually the owners had come to the town and asked to be exempted from the special assessments on the grounds that the parcel had no road frontage (the part that was actually in the district) and had no real benefit, no way of getting to the water or sewer lines along Route 366, Atty Perkins described to the board using the map that portion of the parcel that lies within the bounds of the district. Apparently no request was made this year because the previous owners didn't pass along that information to Mr. Madsen. He is not sure without checking what Mr Madsen can do about it.. It will need to be determined how much is actually Page 1 of 15 1 1 .o TS 014)9 -02 attributable to the parcel that lies within the district, and not the whole parcel, because the computation of the benefit assessment was based on the whole parcel, not: just what was in the district. Secondly, is there anything that we can do about that, since the tax roll is now final? B Hollenbeck said he could apply through the County for a correction, but the Town would have to talk to the County and let: them know what the charges ought to be. Mr Madsen wondered since the Town Board had never applied special assessments to the parcel since the inception of the districts, why should they ever apply? The part of the property within the district has no access to the services. Atty Perkins .stated he could not say what in the past motivated the board to annually do this, but part of it is in the district and therefore there is a presumption that it is subject to the benefit assessment. Apparently in the past the board exempted it because there is no road frontage and it is not now served by water and sewer, but that is not to say that it couldn't be served by water and sewer. It: was charged this year because there was no request for an exemption. Cl Michaels asked if the parcel could be removed from the district permanently. Atty Perkins will check the provisions of Article 12 of the 'Gown Law to see if that is possible, and noted that: if he ever wanted to develop that part of the parcel and got: an easement so he could bring water and sewer up the hill tiom Route 366 he'd be out of luck and Atty Perkins assumes that the reason the owners requested exemption annually is to maintain that option. Michael Lane suggested that the Board pass a resolution requesting a correction and send it with a cover letter to Valeria Coggin, Director of Assessment. Supv Varvayanis asked Kevin Ezell to determine what the official procedure is, asked the board for authorization to write a letter to assessment after the acreage within the district has been determined, and asked Atty Perkins to check Article 12 as to whether the parcel could be permanently removed from the district. Mr Madsen stated he did not want any portion of the property left within district. RESOLUTION #71 - AUTHORIZE SUPERVISOR TO WRITE TO ASSESSMENT REGARDING TAX MAP PARCEL #52. -148 Cl Grantham offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby authorizes the Supervisor to write a letter to the Division of Assessment requesting that the tax roll be corrected so that Tax Map Parcel #521-1 -28 is only assessed special district assessments for that portion of the parcel lying within the bounds of the Turkey Hill Water District and Turkey Hill Sewer District. 2114 Cl Hatfield Roll Call Vote Cl Hatfield Yes Cl Stelick Yes Supv Varvayanis Yes Cl Michaels Yes Cl Grantham Yes Cl Michaels cautioned Mr. Madsen that there are certain timeframes that he will need to work within to have changes made, and he should be conscious of those in his application to the Division of Assessment, and that he may want to hire an attorney for assistance with this because different procedures have different time lines. Page 2 of 15 TS 0 1 -09-02 Larry Carpenter asked how union negotiations were proceeding. Supv Varvayanis stated that the Town's attorney has sent a letter to the new business agent and there has been no response to date. Peggy Walbridge is concerned about speed limits on Ellis Hollow Road, Ellis Hollow Creek Road and Ringwood Road. People turning right from Ringwood Road onto Ellis Hollow Creek Road drive much too fast. She stated that since "the hollow" has parallel road, it should be looked at as a system to try to get the speed limits down. Dealing with one road will only move the problem to another road. She is also concerned about the cost of the ambulance, and requested that Town make available to citizens on the web and otherwise a line by line breakdown of the ambulance budgets for the current year, last year, and any previous years, so that the public can see where the increases are. She said that if it is a legitimate increase people will be less upset if they have the information and if there are some problems it will show in line by line format. She would like to see them available with a month. Dana Abney staked that would be possible. D Abbey said the Fire and Ambulance Departments held a public information meeting last night and P Walbridge said she heard from people that they did not hear a lot of true explanation line by line. She doesn't believe that is an unreasonable request. D Abbey said they do not have the last five year's wages, and Supv Varvayanis stated the Town could add what it spent for that. COUNTY BRIEFING Michael Lane - The County Board has been in a reorganizational mode. The new ® County Board Chair is Tim Joseph and M Lane is serving as Vice Chair. M Lane will be chairing the Economic and Work Force Development Committee, serving on the Public Works Committee, Chairing the Charter Review Committee, and serving on the Communications Capital Project Committee and Space and Relocation Committee. A report on the Caswell Road Engineering Study has been or will soon be sent to the Supervisor and the Water Resources Council. Martha Robertson stated that she is thrilled to be here and thanked the people who helped her get elected to the County Board. She will be serving on the Health and Human Services Committee, Budget Committee, Communications Capital Project and the Planning Committee. Ed Marx has been appointed as the new head of the .Planning Department and will be working to fill vacancies in the department and bring it up to speed as soon as possible. She is eager to get oriented and take tours of County buildings. She is concerned about the traffic problems in the Ellis Hollow area. She understands that speed limits are under the jurisdiction of the New York State Department of Transportation. People in the area have petitioned the State several times through the years and a few years ago one section of Ellis Hollow Creek Road were successful in getting the speed limit lowered for that section down to 40 mph. Residents of the area believe it is crazy that the roads in the area are posted for different speeds ranging from 40 mph to 55 mph and it creates a dangerous situation. These are residential areas and the roads are used by children, bikers, joggers, walkers, etc. She has spoken with Marty Luster about this and he told her the first step is to get a resolution from the Town Board and he would go with her to the State DOT to see what could be done. She believes the case can be made that since the State lowered the speed limit in one section to 40 mph there is really no justification to not have a. consistent ® speed limit in the whole area of 40 mph. The area would consist of Ellis Hollow Creek Road from Turkey Hill Road to Ellis Hollow Road, Genung Road, Ellis Hollow Road from Game Farm Road to Ellis Hollow Creek Road, and Turkey Hill Road. She knows from the Sheriff that they Page 3 of 15 TB 0 1 -094)2 cannot depend on them for enforcement. Ellis Hollow Road is in the process of being redesigned by the County and speed is defanitely an issue that neighbors are talking to the highway department about. The neighbors would like to see a multi - faceted approach to this and one part of that is to lower the speed limit. M Robertson believes the strength of the case is to ask for consistency in the neighborhood. C1 Michaels asked Town Highway Superintendent, Jack Bush, for his opinion on the matter. J Bush said he has a few concerns. This is not the only residential area in the Town of Dryden. He noted that the previous board had passed a resolution in support of Towns being able to determine speed limits within their municipality. Last year a resident of the other section of Ellis Hollow Creek Road contacted DOT and was informed that there was no way a lower speed limit would be issued for that section of the road. M Robertson stated that this section of the Town is up in arms about speed limits, trucks, about the area being used as a throughway, and the need to rebuild the road brings this all to a head. It is an extremely attractive area, for people to use the sides of the road for various reasons and residents should be safe when doing so. She stated that residents are willing to go door to door gathering signatures on petitions. Cl Grantham said that usually the Board wants petitions before taking action and the Board could pass a resolution and wait for petitions or wait for petitions and then pass a resolution. P Walbridge stated they had not paid attention to petitions in the past, and there are minutes from the meetings regarding the redesign of Ellis Hollow Road that support the request for a lower speed limit. After discussion the board determined that petitions were not necessary prior to the resolution and action by the Board. RESOLUTION #72 - REQUEST AREA SPEED LIMIT IN ELLIS HOLLOW AREA Cl Grantham offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: WHEREAS, the Town of Dryden is concerned for the safety of its residents and those people travelling through the Town, and WHEREAS, the Town Board is aware that many of its citizens would like a. lower speed limit in the Ellis Hollow area to help insure the safety of those residents, WHEREAS, there are segments within the area that are posted at 40 mph and the character of the road doesn't change sufficiently to warrant an increase in speed to 55 mph, it is RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby supports a lower speed limit in the Ellis Iiollow area and requests that the New York State Department of Transportation reduce the speed limit in the following area of the Town of Dryden to 40 miles per hour: Ellis Hollow Creek Road in its entirety, Ellis Hollow Road from Game Farm Road to Ellis Hollow Creek Road, Genung Road in its entirety and Turkey Hill Road between Ellis Hollow and Ellis Hollow Creek Road. 211d Cl Michaels Roll Call Vote Cl Hatfield Yes Cl Stelick Yes Supv Varvayanis Yes Cl Michaels Yes Cl Grantham Yes page 4 of 15 TS 01 -09 -02 M Robertson - This resolution will be read by the designers and the people working on the road as a very strong statement. Some people might just say it's people whining about speed on the road. If the Town Board gets behind this, it will lend a lot of validity and be taken more seriously. Cl Michaels - I think we should have stop signs at Turkey Hill and one at Genung Road. On Genung Road, although it will probably decrease my quality of life in terms of noise, there's a community center and pool right there. Kids are on their bikes. There are no lines on the road. They aren't experienced enough and they ride their bikes right out into the road. RESOLUTION #73 - REQUEST 4-WAY STOP AT ELLIS HOLLOW AND TURKEY HILL ROADS & AT ELLIS HOLLOW AND GENUNG ROADS Cl Michaels offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: WHEREAS, the Town of Dryden is concerned for the safety of its residents and people travelling through the Town, and WHEREAS, the intersections of Ellis Hollow and Turkey Hill Roads and Ellis Hollow and Genung Roads are particularly dangerous to motorists and pedestrians and bikers, and WHEREAS, a community center located near the intersection of Ellis Hollow and Genung Roads is frequented by children biking and walking who must cross the intersection of Ellis Hollow and Genung Roads, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Dryden Town Board hereby requests ® that the intersection of Ellis Hollow Road and Turkey Hill Road and the intersection of Ellis Hollow Road and Genung Road be made fourmway stops, and that the Tompkins County Highway Manager take the appropriate action to accomplish this. 2nd Cl Grantham Roll Call Vote Cl Hatfield Yes Cl St:elick Yes Supv Varvayanis Yes Cl Michaels Yes Cl Grantham Yes Mike Lane stated that the County is already looking at the issue of stop signs and appreciate the resolution. COUNCIL PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR None. ATTORNEY Atty Perkins distributed to the board a draft of a letter to be sent by the Supervisor to the DEC on two issues with respect to the quarry. One is the renewal of the mining permit for Finger Lakes Stone and the other is the issuance of a SPEDES permit, a discharge permit for the cooling water from the stone cutting operation. Cl Grantham asked if it was necessary to say there had been a change of ownership and some of the land has been sold to a private owner, which may be an opportunity for them to modify the permit. She believes the area that is being filled was sold to Mr. Dolph personally and is part of the area that was covered by the ® mining permit. Atty Perkins said the letter addresses the issue of mud on the road and hours of operation, and he does not believe they need any other reasons to look at it. The letter does Page 5 of 15 TB O l d19d)2 reference the reclamation, and hauling clean fill from off site on site. Cl Grantham said that the letter does not ask for specific hours for the mill or that the doors be kept closed or that other noise abatement be implemented. Atty Perkins pointed out that DEC does not claim to have any jurisdiction over the fabrication part of this operation. They consider anything taking place in the mill itself as manufacturing and not something; that they are going to regulate because they have no statutory or regulatory authority for that part of it. He suggested that we could ask for any assistance with respect to that, but they have no regulatory authority. He understands from the mining plan that they use equipment to take away the shale and then they take the stone out and break it apart and haul it to the mill where they then cut it, etc. From the things he has read in the mining permit and in the correspondence is that once they have actually removed the stone from the earth and transported it, DEC doesn't really care much more about it. A few years ago DEC was asked to comment on that part and they declined. Cl Hatfield asked if the cutting operation was grandfathered and Atty Perkins said that everything he has indicates that part of the operation has been going on for many years. According to the owner it has been going on at least 50 years. There have been complaints from people who live a significant distance away that can hear the cutting operation at night. There are also complaints in the file that the actual quarry operation is going on outside the hours of operation which were permitted. The mi inng plan stated that the hours of operation would be 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. to 12 noon on Saturdays. The negative declaration that was made in connection with the environmental review listed the hours as 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. for the quarry operation. Under the State Administrative Procedures Act as long the application for renewal was timely, he is considered to be operating under the terms of the old permit until a new permit is issued. Atty Perkins stated that since it has not been officially renewed, this is a good time for the Town to comment. A sentence will be added to the letter to the effect that the Town feels that some consideration should be given to noise mitigation from the milling operation. Cl Michaels stated that he feels more is gained by providing the DEC with information than showing a strong; sense of advocacy one way or the other. RESOLUTION #74 - AUTHORIZE SUPERVISOR TO SEND LETTER TO DEC Cl Grantham offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby authorizes the Supervisor to sign and for%%wd letters (as amended) to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation with respect to Finger Lakes Stone's application to renew its mining permit and its application for a SPEDES permit. 2nd Cl Michaels Roll Call Vote Cl Hatfield Yes Cl Stelick Yes Supv Varvayanis Yes Cl Michaels Yes Cl Grantham Yes Atty Perkins provided the board with information that the mileage allowance used by CRS is 36.5 cents per mite. Atty Perkins asked the board if there were any comments to be discussed regarding the new standard fire contracts distributed last week and noted the inclusion of them in the Page 6 of 15 Ts 01 -09-02 contract will need be authorised as well as authorizing the Supervisor to sign the contracts. He has prepared and distributed a sample form that could be used in gathering information from the fire departments for each call responded to. There was much discussion between the board and fire departments representatives present about what information is needed and what is readily available. Supv Varvayanis thought that perhaps a copy of the state report could be obtained, but it turns out that is not easy to do. He suggested that a meeting of the chiefs be held to discuss what information was necessary and what could be obtained from dispatch. Cl Michaels said that what he would want to know is who is volunteering and who is going out, so you know who is active for purposes of insurance and who may deserve some recognition. Also where they go, how often, one department responding vs another. He stated if 95% of the information can be obtained from dispatch, that would make it easier on the departments. He would support hiring a soflxvare vendor if necessary to develop a way to extract the information we needed from dispatch. D Abbey suggested that the departments be notified now of what the Town is looking for so they can begin to set up a system now and save time in the future. Cl Michaels read the form prepared by Atty Perkins, and Atty Perkins said he would like to see one of these reports for each vehicle responding to a call, and the driver of the vehicle could be responsible for completing the form. Natan Huffman said that he has recently become active in the Varna Fire Department and that he suspects all the fire departments are already encumbered and burdened with paperwork and reporting. The State requirements are voluminous and it takes a tremendous amount of time to deal with the State mandates and to now ask for another version of the ® information, it would be good to know specifically why the information is being asked for (he noted that is not challenging the reasons why). He asked the board to be sensitive to what these public servants are trying to do. Cl Michaels said he would like to know what is already reported to the State and perhaps a copy of that would be sufficient. N Huffman invited the Board to come to the Varna Fire Department tomorrow night and he will show them the depth of reporting that is already done. There may be a way of handling the data so that everyone gets what they want, but he does not believe a system exists now. Cl Michaels and Cl Grantham will go to the Varna Fire Department. Dan Tier said the information required by the State is not what the Town is asking for. The State report is much more generalized in terms of ghat type of call it was, the code number, what type of action was taken and code number. They aren't interested in the number of trucks responding and number of personnel, etc. They are looking for how many fires were in the State, how many were hazardous materials incidents, etc. The other thing that needs to be addressed because of the number of fire companies in the Town of Dryden, is each fire company's capabilities that they have to run that data. Central dispatch has a certain amount of data. He does not know how it can be broken down, or how central dispatch stores the data Some fire companies have the capability to receive that data in their department, but some do not. He suggests that: the fire departments should look at the form and see what each department is capable of doing and maybe do some adjustments and come back to the board with it. Perhaps they could come up with a more workable solution. Cl Michaels said that feedback would be helpful. D Tier said perhaps they could add some other pertinent information such as training hours and time spent on things like truck checks and equipment maintenance, etc, that may be of more interest to the board than just the fire calls. O Supv Varvayanis said perhaps the Town could get a report of what the individuals in the department have done. Cl Michaels said he would take on the burden of exploring software options. Page 7 of 15 TB 01 -09 -02 Atty Perkins asked the board for any comments on the new standard provisions in the fire contracts (paragraphs 7 through 15). Cl Michaels stated that given the discussion tonight we can probably anticipate some objections regarding 7(a). He thinks it is an accurate statement of the type of information the Town is looking for, and he would like input on what they think they can provide in the most efficient: means possible. Atty Perkins said that the last sentence of the paragraph covers the situation, and he is not asking for approval of the form he distributed tonight (it was offered as a suggestion). Supv Varvayanis would like it understood that there will still be some negotiation with respect to the information required and how it is provided. RESOLUTION #75 - APPROVE REVISED FIRE CONTRACTS Cl Grantham offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby approves the fire contracts as revised and the Supervisor is authorized to sign the same. 2tLd Cl Michaels Doll Call Vote C1 Hatfield Yes Cl Stelick Yes Supv Varvayanis Yes Cl Michaels Yes Cl Grantham Yes Atty Perkins said that he had investigated how the Town might go about assisting the Toxvn of Ithaca by filing a friend of the court brief. If the Town of Dryden grants to submit an amicus curiae brief, it has to get permission from the appellate division. It is a matter of privilege, not a right. It would allow the Town to Weigh in on an issue which is common to all towns within counties that have the kinds of issues before them that are now going to before the Appellate Division, that is, the claim of exemption from local land use control laws. The Town of Ithaca is going to ask the Association of Towns also if they would be willing to weigh in on the issue and seek permission to file an amicus curiae brief. It would allow the Town of Dryden to introduce some argument or authority to protect our interests in these kinds of issues because this is an issue of great importance to the Town. The more different voices that are heard representing the Towns' point of view the better. Atty Perkins will have to make a motion in the Appellate Division for permission to file a brief. This is done on paper, and there is no trip to Albany involved. The Town has no real standing in the appeal because it is a matter involving the Torn of Ithaca and Tompkins County about whether or not the County was exempt from the site plan review provisions of the Town of Ithaca zoning law. But this is an issue which is important to all towns and that is, when you have a claimed exemption from local land use controls, who makes the decision using the balancing of public interests test.. Is the Court, is the abating municipality, the host municipality, etc. These are the issues that are involved in the Town of Ithaca appeal. RESOLUTION #76 - AUTHORIZE AMICUS CURIAE BRIEF IN SUPPORT OF TOWN OF ITHACA Cl Grantham offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVEM, that this Town Board hereby authorizes the Town Attorney to apply to the Appellate Division to submit an amicus curiae brief in support of the Town of Ithaca in its suit against Tompkins County, to prepare and submit the brief. 2nd Cl Michaels Page 8 of 15 • Roll Call Vote TOWN CLERK Cl Hatfield Yes Cl Stelick Yes Supv Varvayanis Yes Cl Michaels Yes . Cl Grantham Yes TB 01 =09 -02 Board has been provided with the Town Clerk's monthly report and annual report. B Hollenbeck reported that she and Cl Stelick had attrnded the Recreatian Partnership meeting yesterday and the Partnership would like to have the By -Laws approved by all participating municipalities. The County has requested some changes to the agreement, and when those are reduced to writing, she will forward to board members. RESOLUTION #77 = APPROVE RECREATION PARTNERSHIP BY -LAWS Cl Grantham offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby approves the By -Laws of the Recreation Partnership Board. 2nd Cl Stelick Roll Call Vote ENGINEERING Cl Hatfield Yes C1 Stelick Yes Supv Varvayanis Yes Cl Michaels Yes Cl Grantham Yes Dave Putnam noted that the Sterns & Wheler contract for SJS needs to be acted an tonight. Atty Perkins noted that he did not comment on the need for additional services or the amount spent for them and summarized his comments on the contract. The dram agreement talks about scope of service, basic services, and design phase services, and he had some question whether that meant the same thing. It also talks about additional services which are apparently defined as anything that is not identified within the scope of services. The agreement is intended to cover the additional services at a rate of 2.5 times the standard rage. There is a termination provision that requires 30 days notice and Atty Perkins said that seems like it might be a long time if for some reason the engineer is not performing given that the services are to be performed within 210 days. There is attached to the contract "standard conditions ". That should not be interpreted to mean that it is a standard condition required by a statute, but are conditions for the contract and all of those are negotiable. The agreement needs to be construed according to the laws of the State of New York and currently says that it will be construed according to the laws where the engineer has his principal place of business. The venue would have to be laid in Tompkins County. The contract contains no provision for him to provide professional liability insurance or proof that he has it. The owners should be named as additional insureds and proof of the insurance with certain limits should be required. Supv Varvayanis said that Susan Brock and John Barney also had comments. D Putnam said that he understood that it had to be acted on by the end of the month because of Page 9 of 15 TB 01 -09 -02 bond act funding. Supv Varvayanis asked the board to authorize him to sign the contract when Atty Perkins was satisfied with it. 0 RESOLUTION #7$ - AUTHORIZE SUPERVISOR TO SIGN STERNS & WHELER AGREEMENT Cl Grantham offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby authorizes the Supervisor to the sign the agreement with Sterns & Wheler after it has been approved by the Town Attorney. 2nd Cl Stelick Roll Call Vote Cl Hatfield Yes Cl Stelick Yes Supv Varvayanis Yes Cl Michaels Yes Cl Grantham Yes ZONING OFFICER Kevin Ezell reported that 196 construction permits had been issued in the Town in 2001, the 314 most issued since ZO Slater has been working for the Town. In addition, 43 permits were handled for the Village of Dryden. Board members have received the Zoning Officer's monthly report. HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT /DPW Jack Bush said that he would like to convene a meeting of the Dryden Lake Park • Committee. Cl Grantham said that Joyce Gerbasi had suggested that committee be rolled into the Conservation Advisory Council. J Bush would like an opportunity to talk with them about how things are going in the park and whether there is anything the committee would like to see happen. Cl Grantham will talk with Joyce Gerbasi about a meeting that would include the CAC and possibly any of the previous members, who J Gerbasi didn't think wanted to be active anymore. Mike Lane said that if the park committee has been dissolved that somebody ought to write the members of the committee and thank them for Nxrhat they have done and tell them that their services are no longer required. He has had people who served on that committee ask him when the committee will meet again, and they have spent a lot of time on the park. Supv Varvayanis said he will send out the letters. J Bush has previously sent the board information regarding a deferred compensation plan. Cl Grantham thought it looked fine. 'there is no cost to the Town other than Dianne's time. C1 Hatfield said it was a nice thing to offer the employees. Cl Michaels said that it is called the New York State Deferred Compensation flan but wondered who vas actually the vendor. Supv Varvayanis said New York State authorizes it. Dan. Tier said he believed it was authorized by the State and operated by an agency and is currently overseen by an insurance company. Cl Michaels said he is in support: of the idea of a deferred compensation plan, but would like someone to look into which vendor we should be using. Under IRS regulations municipalities actually enjoy some significant protections in terms of qualified plans. Be said we should select: the vendor that can provide the most flexible plan, and volunteered to look into that. M Lane said that the County has a plan and had put: out a request for proposals. 'He suggested that Cl Michaels contact David Squires or Steve Rrhicher. C1 Michaels will report at the next: meeting. 0 Page 10 of 15 T6 01 -09 -02 ® J Bush asked the board to pass a resolution in support of the Town of Dryden continuing intermunicipal sharing of labor and materials. There has been no agreement reduced to writing and he would like a resolution in support until that agreement can be prepared. Atty Perkins stated there had been a meeting with Highway Superintendents and attorneys of different towns and had pretty much reached an agreement, RESOLUTION 1179 - SUPPORT INTERMUNICIPAL SHARING OF LABOR AND MATERIALS Cl Michaels offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby supports the idea of intermunicipal sharing of labor and materials between local municipalities. 2nd Cl Grantham Roll Call Vote Cl Hatfield Yes Cl Stelick Yes Supv Varvayanis Yes CI Michaels Yes Cl Grantham Yes J Bush asked the board to consider giving back to employees who do not require health insurance for spouse and /or children a sum of money. Supv Varvayanis noted that was something that Joe Stellik had wanted in the contract negotiations. The Deputy Highway Superintendent will not be covered under the Union contract, and J Bush said this could be a possible savings for the Town. Cl Grantham said that they could look at that for other Town employees and that the Innsurance Committee could look into it. Cl Michaels said that at his office the employees are given a certain amount of money to use toward insurance, etc., and if they don't use it all, then get it in cash, and he recommends that the Town move toward something like that. J Bush stated ghat as his number of full time people has gotten smaller he has had to rely more on part time people. It is working well, however there is an issue with the drug and alcohol policy. Currently part time people do not participate in the random drug testing, and he relies on these people to drive equipment. They should be incorporated into the drug testing policy. It could be that the part time person would have to come in only for the test, and if he needs to be paid for that time, then that is probably what we need to do. Atty Perkins said that they should be subject to the random drug testing if they are going to be driving, and it is only a question of amending the Town's policy. The employees will be covered under the agreement, with the County for testing. RESOLUTION #80 - AMEND DRUG AND ALCOHOL POLICY Cl I-Ialfield offered the following resolution and asked for•its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby amends the Town of Dryden Drug and Alcohol Policy to include part time employees of the Highway Department, 2nd Cl Stelick Roll Call Vote Cl Hatfield Yes Cl Stelick Yes Supv Varvayanis Yes Cl Michaels Yes Cl Grantham Yes Page llof15 TB 0l -09402 J Bush furnished the Board with information regarding the Highway Department's current inventory and a plan for replacing equipment.. Larger equipment is listed with the year purchased and the average age of use. He would like to put the larger trucks on a 6 year rotation. The goal is to replace equipment before it begins to cost a great deal of money for repairs each year. He would like to stay within the budget each year, keeping the taxes the same, and use the dollars to replace the equipment. He believes in this approach because new equipment gets better fuel mileage and saves money on fuel. Newer equipment should have less breakdowns which means less down time, and means more production. More production helps keep manpower numbers down. Better technologies mean that newer engines meet certain emission requirements which is becoming more important. An example of better technologies is a dump box that has a sander/ spreader built in so that the trucks can be used any time of the year. Keeping the vehicles such as a pickup truck with a three year warranty on a two year rotation means that the truck is covered by warranty for the time you have it. The appearance of a newer fleet gives a good appearance for the Town of Dryden. One of the important things is that it contains a consistent: budget and helps keep taxes from rising. This plan is modelers after an example by Cornell Local Roads, and shows that the Town should be budgeting 409,000 a year to be able to maintain this program for the length of time required to replace all equipment. The plan includes which equipment should be replaced in what year and is carried through until each piece of equipment is cycled through (2015). By keeping the equipment for a shorter period of time the equipment has value when you sell it, and the money goes back into the fund. It is estimated that in the year 2002 Nve should only need around $259,000, in 2003 $218,000, in 2004 $250,000, in 2005 $270,000. Each year it is below $300,000. He would like to stay with this program. One goal is to try and avoid the cost of major repairs down by not retaining a vehicle past its warranty. This would also help eliminate the need for a mechanic, and the individual • assigned to a particular truck has first opportunity to work on that equipment. If they aren't capable, someone in house will be asked to do the work before it is sent out for repair. They have been without a mechanic now for three years. Supv Varvayanis would like to see the study done by the County that Jack used in preparing this plan. Cl Michaels wondered if there was any sense in buying an old piece of equipment, saving on the initial purchase price, and assuming the cost of maintenance and repairs. J Bush said that cost of repairing some of the large pieces of equipment is excessive, and the longer you keep it the more repairs you will make. Jack Bush noted that one thing he had done since 1999 is remove some pieces of equipment from the sleet that were not used often such as a tractor trailer, 2 trucks, and he down -sized the loader. He is trying to do what makes the most: sense for the town, and buying junk is not the answer. In some cases it has made more sense to rent a piece of equipment when it was needed instead of own and maintain it. Cl Michaels asked for a meeting with Jack to better understand this plan and what he is trying to accomplish. Supv Varvayanis suggested that a meeting of Highway Committee would be a good time to discuss some of these things. J Bush asked for a resolution to sell certain equipment and purchase equipment (previously provided to board members). He noted that it is important to accomplish this soon because some items will need to be purchased under state contract: (those items are noted in the resolution), and there is a deadline for that. The resolution vas made by Cl Hatfield and seconded by Supv Varvayanis. Cl Michaels said he does not have enough information to vote on this now and would like more time to consider this resolution and talk with Jack about it. If it turns out that a. deadline will occur prior to the next meeting, the Supervisor will call a special meeting. Motion was rescinded. 40 Page 12 of 15 1413 01 -09=02 A Sergeant from the NYS Police introduced himself and asked that if the Town has any concerns to please get in touch with him. He heard the concerns regarding speed in Ellis Hollow. He can try to address that by having troopers in the area a little more often. Cl Grantham told him that people had been in about Midline Road and speeding and citizens have also expressed concern for speeders in the Etna area. The trooper said they had been contacted by people in Etna and had worked on that area. Board thanked him for coming. DISCUSSION The Building Committee is still waiting for a written report from Pam Kingsbury. Cl Grantham noted two things left off the committee appointments were her as liason to the CAC and as representative to the Cayuga bake Watershed .lntermunicipal Organization. She would like to keep doing that. RESOLUTION #81 - APPOINT LIASON TO CAC AND REPRESENTATIVE TO CAYUGA LAKE WATERSHED INTERMUNICIPAL ORGANIZATION Cl Grantham offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby appoints Deborah Grantham as its hason to the Conservation Advisory Council and appoints Deborah Grantham as its representative to the Cayuga Lake Watershed Intermunicipal Organization. 2nd C1 Michaels Roll Call Vote Cl Hatfield Yes Cl Stelick Yes Supv Varvayanis Yes Cl Michaels Yes Cl Grantham Yes There is a vacancy for the Cable Commission and Natan Huffman is willing to serve in that: capacity and has the expertise. Cl Grantham would also like to revisit the issue of joining the County in negotiating with Time Warner. Several years ago the Town decided to go its own way and she would like to consider going with the group. Neither one is moving very fast, but she noted that there is strength in numbers. M Lane said he would make an inquiry to see if the option to join the consortium was still open. He would like the Town to join the group, especially with both Villages being involved, and it would help in the efforts for the TC3 connection. He will let us know if the City and of:her municipalities would be willing to let the Town join. RESOLUTION #82 - APPOINT CABLE COMMISSION REPRESENTATIVE Cl Grantham offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby appoints Nat:an Huffman as its representative for the Cable Commission. 2nd Cl Michaels Roll Call Vote Cl Hatfield Yes Cl Stelick Yes Supv Varvayanis Yes C1 Michaels Yes Cl Grantham Yes Pagc 13 of 15 748 014)9 -02 RESOLUTION #83 - REVISIT JOINING CABLE CONSORTIUM Cl Grantham offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board will revisit its prior decision not to join the Joint Cable Commission. 211d Cl Michaels Roll Call Vote C1 Hatfield Yes Cl Stelick Yes Supv Varvayanis Yes Cl Michaels Yes Cl Grantham Yes Cl Grantham noted that Cl Michaels has been appointed to the Community Block Grant Review Committee and advised him that the next meeting N%U be March 5, 2002, at 8:30 a.m. They are close to being done with that grant and will probably have one or two more meetings. There is about; $28,000 left to be committed. 25 projects are done or committed. Cl Hatfield made a motion to appoint Tom Hatfield to the Planning Board and it was seconded by Cl Michaels, C1 Grantham stated they had an application from Joe Aquadro who specializes in housing and so on in his work at Cornell and she thinks it would be an important addition to the Planning Board, so she % %ill vote against T Hatfield and wishes that Joe Aquadro be considered for the position. J Aquadro lives on Groton Road which is a different part of Town than has been represented in some time on the Planning Beard. Planning Board members currently live in Ellis Hollow (3), Varna. (1), Etna. (1), and near the Dryden Village (1), RESOLUTION #84 - APPOINT PLANNING BOARD MEMBER - HATFIELD Cl Hatfield offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby appoints Thomas Hatfield to the Town of Dryden :Planning Board for a germ to expire December 31, 2007, 2 "" C1 Michaels Roll Call Vote Cl Hatfield Yes Cl Stelick Yes Supv Varvayanis No Cl Michaels Yes Cl Grantham No There is a vacancy on the Industrial Development Agency. Tom Hatfield has submitted an application for this position. RESOLUTION #85 - APPOINT IDA MEMBER - HATFIELD Cl Hatfield offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby appoints Thomas Hatfield as its representative to the Industrial Development: Agency. 2 1*1d Cl Michaels Roll Call Vote Cl Hatfield Yes Cl Stelick Yes Page 14 of 15 Ei I TB 0 l -09 -02 Supv Varvayanis Yes Cl Michaels Yes Cl Grantham Yes Supv Varvayanis stated that a resolution is required to file the annual report by March 1, 2002 in lieu of the February 1, 2002 date. RESOLUTION #86 - FILE ANNUAL REPORT BY MARCH 1 Cl Michaels offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Toum Board hereby authorizes the Supervisor to file the 2001 Annual Report with the Office of the State Comptroller by March 1, 2002 in lieu of the February 1, 2002 filing with the Town Board. 2nd Cl Hatfield Roll Call Vote Cl Hatfield Yes Cl Stelick Yes Supv Varvayanis Yes Cl Michaels Yes Cl Grantham Yes Cl Michaels asked what the McArthur Fund was and Supv Varvayarlis said he did not really remember what that was. Interest from the find is distributed every year to Dryden Central School and the George Junior Republic. He does not recall what started it, and will report on it next month. On motion made, seconded and unanimously carried, the board moved into executive session at 9:50 p.m. to discuss a matter of litigation. No action was taken and on motion made, seconded and unanimously carried, the meeting was adjourned at 10:03 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Bambi L. Hallenbeck Town Clerk Page 15 of 15 Town cf Umden Town Board Meeting January 9, 2002 Name = jPlease Print) �r ;� lV Address -Freo'd Fl, ,����� L� 4UU% CAZ)-� �- l A 5{- caV.cAcArcQ (ZO . C� DRYDEN TOWN BOARD MEETING DRYDEN TOWN HALL Wednesday, .January 9, 2002 6:30 Pan. audit & approve January abstract #101 — NUment Citizens Privilege County briefing - Michael Lane - George Totman — Martha Robertson Councii privilege of the floor - set time for annual audit Attornev Town Clerk Minutes Engineering Zoning Officer Monthly Report Department of Public Works Purchase equipment Sell equipment Park committee meeting Procurement policy Highway Superintendent Purchase equipment Sell equipment Deferred compensation plan Procurement policy Discussion Building Committee report Old business New business Resolutions File Annual report by March Disburse McArthur Interest Financing scope of services (SSJS) Town 13oani meeting_w /public hearings — Wednesday Febam 6 2002 — 7:00 p"m. Town. Board meeting— Wednesday, February 13.2002 — 6:30 p.m.