HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002-09-04TB 09-04412
TOWN OF DRYDEN
TOWN BOARD MEETR
8epterimWr 4, 2002
Board Members Present; Supv Mark Varvayanis, Cl Charles Hatfield, Cl Stephen Stelick,
jr_, Cl Christopher Atichaels, C1 Deborah Grantham
Other Elected Officials- IBambi L_ Hollenbeck, Town Clerk
Jack Bush, Highway Superintendent
Other 196wrn Staff; Mahlon R. Perkins, 'Town Attorney
Henry Slater, Zoning Officer
David Putnam (TG Millers), Tawas EngLr"r
Supv Varvayanis called the meeting to order of 7 =15 p-m. Board members and guests
participated in the pled of allegiance.
Ed Abruzzo of the NY$ Police introduced himself and said they regularly visit town
board meetings to see it there was anything the Town would like to discuss or if there were any
questions_ No board member or citizen had any questions.
upv Varva anis advised the board. that the Cayuga Lake Intermumcipal Orgatuzation
wa,% awarded 230,Q0( in grant funds for studies on erosion control and scdimentalion
abatement.
Tompkins County board Representative Barbara Blanchard, Chair of the Public Works
Committee, explained that for about given years there has bean interest at the County level in
seeing if they could get the NYS State DOT facility on Third Street moved from that site in order
to release the waterfront area for amore compatible waterfi -ont use. She said that S%Upv
Vary &yards has been very helpful in trying t€t narrow the site selection down to areas that
wnWd be satisfactory to the Town and they believe that there is at least one viable site, possibly
others_ Tbey are here tonight to see if from the C amity's perspective they can answer some
questions the Town Board might have. 'there are also DOT representatives present._ She asked
Supv Varvayarkis if he wanted to treat this as a working session to talk about some of the
issues and he said that-was correct.
B Blanchard stated they had identified a Rite on Ellis Drive ghat seems to satisfy all the
needs of NY S. DOT and looks h-ke an easy to site to develop_ It has sewer and would require art
extension of water service from the Village. From their perspective that is an attractive site
but they understand that there may be ofiber sites that the Town wo ld litre considered and
they would like to hear about those. She stated there is a time pressure in that the DOT has
been patient in trying to find a site and funding in trying to move the project for -ward, but have
waited as long as they can. Additionally, Senator Seward has been able to secure three million
dollars in State funding for the project and has made it clear that a decision needs to be made
or he will not be able to guarantee the funds_
B Blanchard introduced Carl Ford of Region 3 Syracuse DOT and Stan Birchenough
who is also from Region 3_ Carl Ford said he is the Regional Transportation Engineer of the
Syracuse office, and Stan Birchenough is the acting Resider4t Engineer for the Cortland.
Tompkins residency. He said their needs are driven at this point by the condition of their
residency in Cortland. H(I has tried over the past 8-10 years to search for a site and funding
for a new residency_ They are closer now than they have ever been. The Cortland facility ir> in
Pnge 1 of 6
Tl3 09 -04 -02
such a condition that if they don't secure a new residency shortly they will have to make
sizeable repairs into the facility and that is driving their need at this time.
Supv Varvayanis asked Ed Marx if he had received the comments that were faxed to
him previous to the meeting and he said he had. With respect to traffic in front of the high
school, he stated there would be a net addition of three trucks using Route 38 in front of the
high school during snow plowing season. The facility itself would be buffered from the school
by existing vegetation that would remain. He stated in terms of noise the daytime operations
would be compatible with any types of uses that might be located in that kind of zoning
district. He stated there are no real impacts on school operations that they can identify at this
point other than that the roads in front of the schools would be the first ones plowed.
E Marx said there was a question about a traffic light on Route 38 and he was unsure
what that referred to and there is no place that he can identify a need for one based on three
additional trucks. Supv Varvayanis said the school feels it needs a traffic light: now and E
Marx said the truck traffic generated from the DOT facility would have no net impact on the
need for a light. He noted there was an access issue mentioned for the school and from their
perspective and the DOT's perspective, they are focusing on development of the DOT facility
and other unrelated issues should be dealt with as appropriate but they are reluctant to tie
unrelated issues into this project especially given the limited budget and time frame.
C Ford stated if there is a perceived need for a. traffic light, they are handled by the
traffic engineer in the main office. When there is a. request a study will be done. Donna Mott
of the Dryden School Board commented that traffic congestion was something that had been
identified by the Safety Committee. B Blanchard and Carl Ford said the Safety Committee
could request that a study be done.
® Lisa Stelick asked how many employees would be driving to the facility. Stan
irchenough distributed a floor plan and a fact sheet which indicates there will be 35 to 45
people working at the facility including the office staf.
Stan Brichenough explained that while this will be the main residency for the Cortland -
Tompkins area, they will retain their sub - residency in Polkville which services Interstate 81
and the eastern half of Cortland County. T'he main residency would service western Cortland
County and all of Tompkins County. Summer hours are 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. In the winter
there are two shifts, 3:00 am, to 12:00 p.m. and 12:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. with 17 to 20 people
on each shift. There will be eight snow plows at: this facility with eight other support vehicles
utilized. The western portion of Tompkins County is contracted out to Tompkins County. All
of Route 13 southbound tragic would exit on to Ellis Drive. All other traffic in and out will use
Enterprise Drive to Route 38. Low level security lighting will be used for the building with flood
light motion detectors at the fuel station and loading stations. He exhibited photos of the
facility currently used in Waterloo.
A resident asked what kind of work the State does in the summer and S Birchenough
responded that they do a number of things including mowing, clearing ditches, paving, etc.
There will be a salt storage facility (3,000 ton capacity) with provisions for runoff, etc.
Supv Varvayanis said the Town would be interested in sharing salt storage and Carl
Ford said they would be interested in talking about that.
S Birchenough said they were looking for a site of 10 to 15 acres and Cl Michaels asked
why they needed that much space. He replied they would need space to store pipe, stone,
Is gravel, space for the salt dome and equipment and employee parking. Cl Stelick asked if that
would be similar to the way those items are stored in Polkville and S Birchenough replied that
it would. Their current site is approximately six acres.
Ngc 2 of 0
TB 09 =04-02
® P Archambault asked what the alternative sites were. Supv Varvayanis replied there
was a map from 2000. She stated that the School had previously been to the Town Board
asking them to encourage development and thereby increase the tax base. She said that if this
would encourage development (and extend water to the Ellis /Enterprise Drive area) it would be
a good thing.
Ed Marx stated that the DOT facility use of the site is very similar to the uses that the
private sector could put on the site under existing zoning and therefore compatible with
existing land uses there. There is a significant amount of vegetation between the site and the
school to screen and buffer any noise generated from the site. He reiterated that the site is
zoned appropriately for the proposed use.
B Blanchard said this would be a good location for economic development and the
discussions that they had participated in indicated that this project would be the key to
bringing water to that area. This past Friday she delivered the County's application for
designation of some areas for an Empire Zone and this area is part of that application.
Without the water it is not very likely that industrial activities with high paying jobs would
locate there.
Ed Marx said they understand that there has been an interest in getting water to the
area for some time and believes this project would assist with that.
In response to a question from a citizen about a removing the property from the tax
rolls, Supv Varvayanis said it would be an insignificant change in the tax base and E Marx said
that with infrastructure extension would hopefully in a fairly short period of time encourage
investment that would make that up.
® D Mott said that the school experiences high traffic at certain times of the day and
wondered if the State could change their shifts to avoid those hours. S Birchenough said they
have some flexibility but not a. lot and will need to respond when there is a snow event.
L Stelick asked how frequently they would receive salt deliveries. S Birchenough said
they would receive three to five deliveries in a day when they need it (approximately 150 loads
in a season).
The site being considered is located in the corner near where Enterprise and Ellis
Drives meet.
Tom Hatfield, Planning Board member and IDA member, said that it was good to see the
State, County and Town working together toward a goal. With respect: to the proposed site he
does see some negatives. He said it doesn't seem to fit that particular community as well as it
might fit an existing community, that being next to the existing town barns and across from
the school's bus garage where there is already similar traffic and the potential to share things
such as salt storage and fuel facilities. He does understand that need to take water to the Ellis
Drive area. and suggested that perhaps the County and /or State could take water to the area.
and then swap for a site next to the town's highway facility. He said the Ellis Drive area could
be developed with business similar to Dryden Mutual, such as locating the Town Hall there.
He is concerned with the items that will be stored outside the DOT facility and does not think
that: is conducive to attracting other employers to the area. He would like to see the project
move forward quickly, preferably on East Main Street and if not, then he is confident: the Town
Board will see that the site is buffered well. He is concerned with the additional traffic, at the
high school and the young people driving in and out of the school.
Page 3 of 6
T13 09 -04 4)2
Barbara Blanchard said that any site would have to be approved by NYS DOT. She did
is say she would not connect the East Main Street site with putting water in at Ellis Drive
because they are not in a position to make that kind of infrastructure available to the Town
without having it associated with the facility. That would be a dangerous precedent for the
County to set. They are willing to look at the East Main Street site if the DOT is, but they need
to select a site before the money is no longer available. If that happens the chances of
relocating the facility from the City of Ithaca are not good.
Supv Varvayanis said that with the Ellis Drive site, although the Village has expressed
interest in getting water there, a water district will need to be formed, and that is subject to
permissive referendum. The site on East Main Street is not zoned for this type of use, and
although the Village has not expressed any negative feelings about siting it there, it: will be
subject to variance by the Zoning Board of Appeals. He suggested that they try a two- pronged
approach and try to get an option on Ellis Drive and get a water district, and at the same time
try to get an option on land on East Main Street and make an appeal to the Zoning Board of
Appeals and go the route of whatever can be accomplished faster. The Town owns property on
East Main Street, but additional property would have to be purchased from ]empire Livestock.
T Hatfield said that type of approach should be encouraged.
E Marx said the DOT is not too fond of going for variances, nor technically would they
have to, but said the idea here and the effort between the County and the municipalities since
he came in January is to try and follow what has been said to date is the desired land use for
an area as much as possible when doing public facilities and that is one reason the site was
looked at so favorably when it was brought to their attention, because it did fit with an existing
land use plan and existing zoning. DOT would like to locate somewhere where the community
has already decided is suitable.
® Cl Michaels asked if anyone else on the board had considered any other site and noted
that by the existing highway facility seems to fit the criteria in that the community has decided
it is a good place for highway equipment. With the Ellis Drive site there is nothing that can be
done to change the fact that a water district would be required and that takes a significant
amount of time. It may be quicker to look to the Village ZBA for a variance or ask the Village to
change the zoning. No board members offered alternative sites for consideration. Locating
next: to the Town's highway facilities may result in cost savings to the Town and DOT in
combining resources or facilities. That co- location is important if it results in cost savings
advantages.
Carl Ford said it is too soon to make that kind of decision since he hasn't seen the site.
They would need to examine the site and makes sure it meets their needs first. Something like
sharing salt storage facilities could be worked out. He is unsure about fuel.
P Archambault asked what the total cost of the project would be and B Blanchard
replied that it was about four and a half million dollars and without the three million from the
State the project would be impossible. P Arehambault encouraged them to make a decision
and take advantage of the funding as soon as possible.
Supv Varvayanis reiterated that his "two- pronged approach" was offered as a way to
exTedite the process.
T Hatfield said that the economic impact of having 35 -40 employees would benefit local
businesses. There is a lot of value to be gained by moving forward and Supv Varvayanis'
suggestion is a good one.
Pagc 4 of 6
TB 09 -04-02
Cl Stelick said that he understood there was three million dollars available in State
funding and has information that there will be $700,000 from the DOT and asked where the
balance of funds would come from. B Blanchard responder) that there is residual value in the
site on Thud Street which the County will become the owner of and translating that value into
dollars to support the project will be the way the gap will be addressed.
E Marx said one of the concerns they have is that every additional thing that is done
costs money. To look at a site they have to pay to have it appraised and do some assessing of
its suitable and there isn't any extra money in the budget. They can do a little bit, but they
can't progress too far with two sites because they can't start any design until a specific site has
been selected. It is feasible for the first phase of site selection only.
C1 Michaels said that he thought either of the two sites were good options and the board
had considered a lot in preparation for the meeting and he thought each had its pluses and
minuses. Cl Grantham said they would probably ask for more than just maintaining existing
vegetation for buffering at: either site. Cl Stelick said that he is very interested in working with
either site, but would like the East Main Street site looked at first. He does not want to slow
the process down. CI Hatfield said he preferred the East Main Street site and wants them to
seriously consider it. B Blanchard said if this is easier than the other site and it works then
they will be happy to do it. Supv Varvayanis said he hoped they understood that the Town is
committed to doing what it can to make the project work.
It was decided that representatives from the DOT and the County would meet with
Henry Slater and Jack Bush on September 9, 2002, at 8:00 a.m. to look at the site next to the
Town's Highway facilities.
Atty Perkins has provided the Board with a resolution concerning the Crown Castle
telecommunication tower application.
RESOLUTION # 185 - RESOLUTION TO RECONSIDER THE DENIAL OF THE APPLICATION
OF CROWN ATLANTIC COMPANY, LLC. ET. AL. FOR A SPECIAL PERMIT TO ERECT A
MONOPOLE ON PROPERTY OF NEW YORK STATE ELECTRIC AND GAS CORPORATION,
TO REOPEN A PUBLIC HEARING ORIGINALLY CLOSED ON MAY 19 20029 AND TO
ESTABLISH ANOTHER PUBLIC HEARING AND PROVIDE FOR PUBLIC NOTICE THEREOF
Supv Varvayanis offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption:
WHEREAS, Crown Atlantic Company, LLC itself and on behalf of certain wireless
telephone carriers has applied to the Town Board of the Town of Dryden for a special permit to
erect a 120 foot monopole on property owned by New York State Electric and Gas Corporation
near the intersection of New York State Routes 13 and 366, and
WHEREAS, a public hearing on
such application was
held on
May .l, 2002 and after
receiving comments
from the applicant
and the public such
hearing was closed, and
WHEREAS, following such public hearing the Town Board requested the applicant to
address certain questions which had arisen which the applicant: agreed to do, and
WHEREAS, on June 12, 2002 the Town Board met to hear the responses of the
applicant to such questions, to consider the application and make a decision thereon, and
WHEREAS, the applicant then refused to respond to the questions which had arisen
including the suitability of using certain transmission line towers owned by New York State
® Electric and Gas Corporation in the search area and certain other questions posed by town
board member Michaels on May 21, 2002, and
Page 5 of 6
T8 09414 -02
WHEREAS, the Town Board then determined that the applicant had not complied with
local law No. 3 of the year 1998 which, inter alia, in section 8 thereof, requires an applicant for
any proposed new tower site to submit a comprehensive report inventorying existing towers
and other appropriate structures and outlining opportunities for share use of existing facilities
as an alternative to new construction, and
WHEREAS, as a result of such determination the Town Board then denied the
application, and
WHEREAS, the applicant now desire to present additional evidence in support of its
application, specifically addressing the questions about the suitability of using New York State
Electric and Gas Corporation owned electric transmission line towers and the questions posed
by town board member Michaels,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED as follows:
1. The Town Board agrees to reconsider its previous denial of such application
following another public hearing at which hearing the applicant will have an opportunity to
present additional information in support of its application.
2. Such public hearing shall be upon notice as provided in local law No. 3 of the year
1998 and shall be held as soon as practicable following receipt: of a written request by
applicant to reopen such hearing and which request shall be accompanied by written
responses to the questions referred to in the recitals herein.
2nd Cl Michaels
Roll Call Vote
Cl
Hatfield
Yes
Cl
Stelick
Yes
Supv Varvayanis
Yes
Cl
Michaels
Yes
Cl
Grantham
Yes
On motion of Cl Michaels, seconded by Cl Stelick, and unanimously carried the board
adjourned to executive session at 8:40 p.m, to discuss a matter of existing litigation. No action
was taken and the Board returned to regular session at 8:47 p.m.
Cl Michaels said that in looking at the previous draft of a water agreement with the
Village he noted that we were excluding TC3 from the district and wondered why. Atty Perkins
responded that TC3 is served by a contract with the Village. Cl Michaels said that he felt that:
that TC3 should be included in the district. Atty Perkins stated that the prior Town Board had
not agreed to the draft water agreement as presented by the Village. The procedure for
formation of a water district was discussed, the most common way being to proceed under
Article 12 -A of the Town Law.
On motion made, seconded and unanimously carried, the meeting was adjourned at
9:00 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Bambi L. Hollenbeck
Town Clerk
Pagc6of6
Town of Dryden
Town Board Meeting
® September 4, 2002
Name - ,Please Print}
6& f: i ' I IJ11�C�tYi
nozse
�
C e v
1 !Z 7 4cu
j J�NS • `J .
Address {{��
asn+ays: 1Z k�u,%O UR+qLr
�grUta , pr 1,14053
CAS kcOLV4 5 A %
AllQSP -.TT"A