HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-10-01TB LO-1-03
TOWN OF DRYDEN
TOWW BOARD MEETING
October 1, 2003
Board Members Present: Supv Mmk arvayanis, C1 Charles Hatfield, Cl Stephen SteFicl€,
Jr., Cl Christopher Michaels, C1 Deborah Grantham
Other Elected Officials; Barnbi L. HolLenbeck, Town Clerk
Jack Bush, Highway Superintendent
Other Town Staff-, Mahlon Perkins, Town Attorney
Henry 'Slater, Zoning Officer
17axid Herrick ("fG Millers), Town Engineer
PUBLIC HEARING
IN THE MATTER OF THE PROPOSED PHOSPHOROS REMOVAL PROJECT FOR THE
SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT IN THE CITY OF ITHACA SERVING THE TOWN OIL DR Yl]EN
TO BE KNOWN AS THE JOINT SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANT PHOSPHORUS REMOVAL
IMPROVEMENT PROJECT PURSUANT TO TOWN LARD §202 -B
Supv Varvayards opened the public. hearing z.o: 7:15 p.m. and Town Clerk read the
public notice published its The Ithaca Journal. Dave Pu tmun explained that the reason for this
public - hearing is that the project came in over budget and dollar amounts needed 1:o be
readjusted to take into account the additional money needed to fund the project. The Town of
Ithaca and City of Ithaca have approved the additional funds.
Atty Perkins said the board had previously reviewed the environmental assessment form
with respect to this project and this proceeding is to increase the maximum amount proposed
to he expended by the Tawas for its various districts, The Board will need to adopt the pUbbr
interest order increasing the amount to be expended from 4,115,00Q to 448,505 of which
the Town share increases from $S 1,477 -00 to $58,0'70,41.
Supv Varvayanis suggested the resolution be adopted contingent upon a. Contract from
the Mato veri -yl the availability of the fuTidnig, Atty Perkins said the hoard needs to define
exactly what needs to happen in order for the resuludun to became effective. Supv Vurvayanis
said he wanted to iinake sure the state will be payrir 75% of the project costs, that there was
some confusion in the paperwork that went in, and the 101:er of assurance mentioned four
projects by number nand none of the amount% they were funding matched exactly. None of the
approved projects were with thx: Ithaca. Area Wasteu-ater Treatment Plant and the two other
municipalities, they were all for the City of Ithaca_ Cl Grantham said the main reason for the
bids big over the estimate was fur drying concrete work in the waiter.
There %were no further questions or comments and the bearing was left open at 7:20
p -m- and Supv Varvoyanis opened the board meeting,
Joke Crerbasi of Bone Plain Road told the board she was very concerned with the
intersection at West Dryden and Sheldon roads. Thcre was. recently another vehicle fatality
there. She said you are blinded by the sun if you are i.rav,elE g east in the morning or west in
the afternoon. Because of the dip on West Dryden Road you have to pull into i:be intersection
from Sheldon Road in order to see if anyone is coming, and that interferes with people turning
left. She said the average speed during morn7 and afternoon rush hour was somelarhere
betvleen 65 and 70 miles per hour through the intersection. She said they were broth County
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roils and asked the board if there was something that could be done to make the intersection
safer; that there have been enough accident and fatalities at the location.
Atty Perkins said the board could request the County look at the appropriateness of the
speed axed how the intersection is marked. Dave Putnam said he did not think the intersecticrzz
would meet the state requhi ements for a fourmway stxap, that they would have a tough time
I
ustifying it, and most the fatal arcidants involve people driving an Sheldon Rand that just
don't stop. J Gerbasi said that sometimes they stop and look, but because of the problem with
the sun morning and afternoon, they may not see anything,
upr Varvayanis thanked Joyce Gerhasi for her time serving m I Environmental
Management Council (EMC) and asked if she would conceder another term. She said she
would like tu, but there would be meetings she would miss in February and possibly in Maurcb,
though the EMC and CAC have indicated they were not, concerned with that. The board said
they would like her to continue on the EMC.,
upv V7rYFlyari s asked if
there were
any other
comments on the phosphorus removal
project and
there
were none, and
the public
hearing was
closed at 7:25 p.m,
RESOLUTION #140 - ADOPT PUBLIC INTEREST ORDER
PHOSPHORUS REMOVAL PROTECT
C;1 Crrantharra offered the following resolution and asked for its
adoption,
WHEREAS, a plaii, report and imp has been duly pnCparCd in such manner and in such deUil as heretofore
Nis been determined by the Toren Board of lhj� Town of Dryden, Tompldn5 County, New York relating to the
construction. pursuant to Tmarn Low § 202 -b of sewer s }stein improvcnic.nIs to be known and idcutified as the Joint
& %,age Treatment Phint phosphorus Roinoval In1provement Project, and Jtereinaller also referred to as
"irr,provcruent ", to provide such sewer impro��cmcnl, to the present sewage treatment plant in the City off Ilinaca
niaiiagcd jointly with the Towns o Ithaca and Dryden providing sewage treatment srrviccs for the Town mver
districts senrcd by such sewage treatment print, such sewer system iinpTovement to be constructod and owned by the
Town of Ithaca, Town of Dryden, and the Ciky of Ithaca, and
V5mlER1vAS_ Said ptari. report and snap have bCCn prepared by Stearns and Wheler, Pro Cessiorial EriL nuns,
00n1petent engineers duly licensed by the, State o New Fork and have been filed in the oflicc of the Town Ocirk
inhere they are available for public insppetion, and
WHEREAS- Ilse area of said Town detennincd Lo he hcnefilled by said Joint Sewage T'rc-.ttment Plant
Phosphorus Removal linprovennent Proicet consists of the entire area oC said Tows sewer districts screed by the
sewage treatment plant in the City of IIhuca, and
WHEREAS, die proposed Joint Sewage Treatment Plant Phosphonis Removal kmprovernent Prgjea
oonsists of the sewer iinprovements set Borth below, a5 more particularly shown and described iii said neap, plan acid
reNrt presently on file in the Office of die Tovm Ocrk:
onslruction and irLstallalion of a tcrtiar)� high rate settling proceS5 and associated reinforoed
eoncrctc structure on piles at the end of the current process stri;jin, adjacent to the firtal effluent
channel at the jointly oper+atW sewage treatment plant located at 525 'Dyird Stroet, lthac"L New
York-, w0her u�lth asstaciated controls, piping, and other structures;
and
WHEREAS, a public hearing on Said plan, report and imp was held by the Town B'crard of the Town of
Dryden on Jul} 93 2003 �l wilicll hearing all Interested per5ons ui the subject were heard on the questions of
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rr13 10_L_03
providing of snid Joint Seumge Treatment Phosphorous Rernm?al Improvement Project, and the question of
cxcc1jting; any r0atud 21gcpmcmL, ynd
1 1EREA5, following said public hearing the Town Board of the Town of Dry&n adopted a Public
1nteresst Order on July 9, 2003, approving the improvenicni with a nuasinium proposed amount to be expended of
$4,1 t 5,000 of which the Town of Dryden `s share uvas not to $8l .L477.00, and
WHEREAS, following the construction bid opening for the imprrnrement, the lowest responsible bids
exceeded the project budgi resulting iii a revised total project cast, and
WRE P,EA.S, it is now necessary to consider approving a revised m�iimum amount to bo expended by the
Town of Drvden for the aforesaid irnprovc6ment, and
WHEREAS, t17C rc+ri d �nil.�inlum proposed to be expended for the aforesaid improvement is
$4,448,500 "00 of which the 'Town of Drydcn's share is not to exomd 88;070.41 and the proposed method of
liniancing to be employed by said Town oi' Dryden consists of payment of said Town 's share out. of the surplus funds
and current rcQrenues is the Toxin of Dryden Sewer Districts, and
W- F^IEREAS, the intplementation of this project will be througi a jcinl agree iwrit with die City of Ithaca
and the Town of Ithaca, and
WHEREAS, the Token Board of thcTowii of Dryden duly adopted an order on September 11, 2003, calling
a public hearing upon said plar� report and snap including a revised estimate of cost and the question of providing
of said Joint Scivago Treaf rent Plant Phosphorus Rcirna al Iniprovenic n E ProFeCL Arid the quesfion of eiecutilig ally
relatod ageement, and to hear all persons interested in the subject thereof, all in accordance with the provisions of
Town. Law § 202_b and applicable provisions of Ilic General MwiiciNl Law and Loral Finance Law; and
WHEREAS, notice of said pubic 1hcorin was duly posted and published as required by law -, and
WHEREAS, said public bearing was duly held ai the place and at ti3C time afommid and all persons
interested in the subject thereof were heard concerning tht: same: and
WHEREAS, the Construction of tic proposed project has heraul -bre been detennined to be ini "Unlisted
Action" pursuant to the regulations of the Kk%v `Fork. State Departinrmt of Eriviromnental Consmration promulgated
Pursuant to the State Cnvirorimental {duality Review Act, the iniplementation of which as proposed, the Town Board
has detorminod, will not result in any significant. environmental c5eas: and
WHEREAS, it is now desired to authorize the improvement to be known as the Joint Sewage Treatment
Plvtt Phosphorus Removal tmprovenient ProjW.:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT
RESOLVED, by the'rown Board of the To %" of Dryden, Tompicins County, Nm `Fork, as follows;
Section. I_ It is hereby dcternuited Ilia it is in t1�c public interest to nuke the sewer improvement
lierein:>,Itcr
described and such
sewer improvement is hereby
authorized, The
proposed
area herehv
deterrttined
to be bencritted by
said Joint Smage Treatntent
PhTit Phosphorus
Removal
lingrovement
Project is all of (lie Town of Drvdcn sMor districts served by the jointly ewncxl scwage treatment plant in;
the ON of Ithaca,
Section 2" The proposed iinpro %ecirnent shall consist of construction and instrtllation of a tertiary
high rate settling Prooem and associated reinforced concrete structure on piles rit the Cad of the current
process streani, ;adjacent to the final elllueni climinel at the sewage treatment plant loeawd at 525 Tbird
Street? Ithaca, New Fork, operated jointly for the: bcrnefit of the City of Ithaca and the Towns of Ithaca and
L7a'yden, together with associated controls, piping, and other structures.
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TB 10 -t -03
Suction 3_ The Town of Dryden hereby authorizes the expenditure or up to $88,070.41 as the
Town's share of the joint[y funded project cost of $4,449 ,500.00 for the construction, installation, and
equJpphig of such project and (lie payment of all costs incident thereto, including architects Fees,
consulting fccs, altvmcys. foes, bidding costs and alt other related costs, all of said actions being
hereinafter oollectively refbm -d to as the "Project" and all of such actions being authorized pursuolim to
Tmvn Law §2{}2$_
cc�ivn
b.
4, 4,448,5110.00
lake: eflcet
is
c Iimcited as
the maximum past For Project and " HH, {170,41
is
estiit�atori as the
maimun� amannl
of
the
Town's share
of tltc post of the Project.
Scx:lion 5. The plan Ibr the financing of the T'own's share of the costs of the Project consists of
pay nmt from surplus finds of ft Tows of Dryden scwpr districts senred by the jointly owned scwage
treatment plalit in the City of Ithaca to pay for the posts of such renovation, cxpansian, construction zind
€xluipping oasts,
Section
b.
This resolution shall
lake: eflcet
upon dtc CCCcipt by the Town Board of a satisfactory
commiumnl from
New York tats for its
antiCipetW
funding share,
" d Cl Michaels
Roll Call Vnte
Cl
Hatfield
Yes
C1
St:elick
Yes
upv Vaiva }Fangs
Yes
Cl
Nhchaels
Yes
Cl
Grandiam
Yes
Cl Grantham explained that a round of interviews (conducted by C1 Grantham, Supv
Varvayanis, Barbara Caldwell and Dan Kart had been held last week for the envlTonmental
plaimer position, t upv Varvayanis has rheckcd the .references of the top candidate and they
came back "glowing" and Cl Grantham would like to offer her the position. There is money in
the budget for the position and C1 Grantham will make an offer to the chosen candidate and
Borne back to the board with aformal proposal if the offer is accepted_
The Town of Dryden is the $seal agent for the Cayuga. Lake Watershed Interf umcipal
Orwiuuzation and Ol Gr;ntha.m is the Chair_ They will be hirit a watershed manager_ That
person will be an ernployee of the flown of Dryden, though the funds use to pay them wilt come
from the Organizatiorn_ 11: looks like the person will be housed at the Town of Ithaca offices,
This board wwM need to approve the position because it will appear on the Town's payroll.
RESOLUTION # 141 - PeSTABLISH POSITION FOR C LW10
CI Grantham offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption:
RESOLVED, that this Town T3nard does hereby establish the position of manager for The
Cayuga Lake Watershed Intermunicipal Organization, said pogrdon to be placed an the payroll
for the Town of Dryden, the funding for which shall come from the Cayuga Lake Watershed
I me rna. uni c ip al Orga nizat t art .
211LI Cl Michaels
Roll Call Vote
Cl Hatfield Yes
C.l Stchvk Yep
Supv Varvayanis Yes
C1 Michael& Yes
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7!3 N -t -03
Cl Grantham Yes
The Board members have received a copy of the Supervisor's tentative budget for 2004.
Supv Varvayanis said he is no l' [.too thrilled with it because thera ure still marry thin up in the
air, such as on Monday he Xearned that the Youth Conservation Corps was being droppbed by
the Youth Commission because they could not afford, He's wonderi Ing if the they could
contract with the County for it, whether the County furtding will go up or down, whether it
would be possible for the DPW or Ree Coordinator to work with the, Youth Conservation Corps -
He has not made a provision fox it in the budget, though he has established some contingency
in each fund and it omdd be taken from there if the Town should decide to fund it.
Cl Stelick asked what would happen if the County should decide not to handle things
such as septic inspections. ZO Stater said he would. rectornmend hiring the permn currently
working in that position at the Health Deparlxnent. There would also be restaurant
inspections, etc to consider. This Xhight also be taken care of from the contingency if
necessary, Cl Grantham said the County was considering cutting a certain amount of Amding
from the .Health Department, not specific pow - loons, wid her understanding was that if that cut
happened, they would try and spread the work aruund and do some things less frequently -
he said the Town should try and figure what this person WOLLId do and what ldnd of tram ng
y'hey would need and put some money in the budget in the event it was necessary.
Supv Vatvayanis said the situation %pith the Recreation partnership was similar in that
the County had enthusiastically voted to continue the partnership, but not committed any
funding, He assumes the Tawas will go ahead and try azid figure out what to do if the Cotuity
pnU out. There ire contingency lines in each fund in the tento6ve budget.
Cl Michaels asked why we were appropriating less in the amIrmlance district- Supv
Varvayani-s said the contrail: amount was the sZtme, and there were workers comp fees on top
of that- The approprialion amount was arrived air by keeping the t2x rate the same and taking
into consideration the amount of money that was left over- 'there are billings from previous
years that were received.
Cl Michaels asked if a proposed budget was received from the Etna Fire Department
and was told there was not. Supv Varvayanis slid increase their amount by °lo, The figure for
Neptune was recommended by Supv Varvayanis. Amounts for Freeville and Varna reflect their
request.
Cl Michaels asked if there was anything to be said about the water and sewer and
Lighting districts; that the amounts :seemed pretrf consistent- The increase for
Meadow/ Leisure Lane lighting reflects the request for additional lighdng, There was a
complaint from one resident about placement of a light pole- A letter is to be sent to residents
regarding the situation.
The %ewer districts that flow to the Ithaca Area Wastewater Treatment plant have to
cover the increasus due to the phosphorus removal project, a new pump on Freese Road
($55, 0 00), and a redistribution of funding for a pump last yew was necessary, Supv
arvayanis mid tTied to keep the Cortland Roars Sewer district tax race pretty much the same,
ar4d the amount increased by $16,000.
The Board set a budget workshop for October 6, 2003, at 7:3() p.m,
Tom Doheny of Time Warner Cable addressed the board regarding a proposed franchise
agreement, provided to board members in advance of the meeting- He explained that after
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diseu tb.e proposed agreement a public hearing will be necessary. This is the same .
agreement they reached with the Town of lthaca,
Items to be considered by the board include:
l The. term. Currently the. Public crvica Commission allows ttm year tc Tms d they
are. revis g that to allow 15 year terms, so that could be changed.
'2} Section 12 of the agreement concerns lure extensions. Currently the state lMv
requires a line extension for a density of 35 homes per mile. This franchise offers a
20 home per mile density.
3� Rates- Ile said rates are a pretty complicated issue. The only rates currently
regulated are basic rates (regulated by the Fj. Each municipality has the option
of taking on the job of rate regulation on their awn, however you have to follow the
FCC rules, which Time Warner already follows, NYS PSC also offers assistance to
municipalities and will represent the Town ah uld the To %vn like more review.
w.
Doheny said if there are less than 20 homes per rrtile, they will tell the interested
party how much of the cast is over and above what Time Warner would normally cover and
they can prey the difference- If there is a number of homes involved, 'rime Warner wrll work
with them all to come up with a cost sharing },lax- Cl Grantham said the density rewired for
service was the complaint she had heard most frequently from residents and that when there is
a home that is fairly near the, end of the cable, the cnst of extension is prohibitive for the
homeowner wishing to connect, Mr Dabeny said they try to he aggressive with it and there are
0 =60 requests for fine extensions that they are wnTk ng on right snow. Cl Mchaels asked Mr
Doheny to provide the Town with a. map showing the areas that are currently served by Time
Warner. Cl Grantham said the people she has tallied with are more concerned aboutgetd -ng
Road Runner than cable. The cast for extension is $18,000 per mile, and $33,000 for
underground limes,
4) Section 16 has to rl<o with public, education and governmental access- Time Warner
currently offers a channel that covers public access, educational access, and
governmental access- In the past they have provided a studio where people can come
and be trained on using the equipment that is available to borrow and produce
television. The faeil.ity for that was required in Il,e City ofIthaca's francl-i, , That
Franchise is expired and the new franchise requiremeirt will only allow use of the studio
and tramming facility for municipalities who participate in the group (City of Ithaca, Town
of Ithaca and Village of Cayuga Heights). Thu se .municipalities its the group are
contributing a half a percent of their franchise fee- That will provide the scuffing at the
facility- The Town of Dryden has the same option. There is a stipulation that if a
person from another municipality wants to use the facility, they will establish a fee
structure for that,
6} Section 18 has to do franchise fees. Municipo&Ees are allowed to charge a franchisw
fee of up to five percent (currently it is three percent). That fee is passed on to the
subac;nhers and is a separate line item- If a municipality goes to five percent, there are
two other fees passed on to customers. One is a state fee acid ox�e is a federal fee.
Because of the way the federal law is urritten, the subscriber can't be charged more than
4 °lu, If you move to 5 %, those two additional fees will be deducted from the 50111, If the
municipality stays at a lower percentage, they are passed on to the subscriber-
Ur Doheny said these five areas are the ones the town needs to give some thought to.
They would like to continue 61, L mans and .see if an agreement can be reached. N r Doheny
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1'13 10 -1 -03
o said he believes the franchise fee paid to the Town is currently around $11,000. There was a
change in the rules last March that made Road Runner revenue a separate item from cable
service and in March they stopped using that revenue for purposes of computing the franchise
fee.
George Frantz gave a presentation on the draft comprehensive plan. He said it had
been a little over two years since work commenced on the comprehensive plan. The last plan
was done in 1968, so this was a fresh look at the town and how it might develop in the future.
Goals include to protect the quality of life, provide opportunities for advancing quality of
life for residents, protect the unique natural assets of the town, make optimum use of
investment in public infrastructure (including land use policies that make sure the existing
infrastructure is used as efficiently as possible before building new).. minimize the cost of
government, encourage intermu.nicipal cooperation in land use policies (not compete with each
other), and encourage intermunicipal cooperation in provision of public services.
In 2000 the Town had 13,532 residents (including 1832 in the Village of Dryden and
505 in the Village of Freeville), representing 14% of the residents of Tompkins County. Ninety
percent of the town is now essentially undeveloped (including woodland, active agricultural
land and inactive agricultural land). Six percent of the Town has been identified as wetlands.
There is also industry (Wilcox Press, Fingerlakes Stone (quarry, etc and large utility rights of
way). Commercial use is three - tenths of one percent. Residential represents 7 %.
Key issue's include population growth and sprawl, transportation (volume of traffic),
congestion (Route 13 in particular). Key issues were identified through surveys of Town
® residents. NYS DOT data was also studied.
Open Space Resource Protection is addressed in two categories, the better agricultural
lands within the town and the ecologically important lands in the town. There are number of
areas identified with significant or important flora and fauna.
Recreational opportunities are discussed. It is an important issue for many town
residents, as well as public safety. G Frantz said infrastructure investment should be
minimized in coming years.
G Frantz reviewed several map included in the plan such as those indicating
recreational opportunities, open space resources. He pointed out natural restraints to
development saying the town is quite sensitive environmentally. Areas of hydric soil indicate
wetland conditions. Slopes in excess of 15% can be expensive to build and maintain roads on.
Other constraints include streams and floodpla:iin areas.
Traffic volumes were identified, with Route 13 between 366 and NYSEG being the
busiest stretch of highway .in the Town. Main Street in Freevihe has about 5800 vehicles per
day and the Village of Dryden has about 10,500. This table has been updated from the original
one in the plan.
The conservation/ open space areas have been identified as being most environmentally
sensitive areas in the Town, and development should be channeled away from them. The plan
proposes substantial reductions in the allowed development intensity, keeping it primarily
residential with other uses allowed, but the density should be more in the range of one dwelling
per 5, 7, or 10 acres. They are not proposing a. zoning ordinance that requires a minimum lot
40 size for a house. They are concerned about density, so the idea is that for example on a 50
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® acre tract of land you could have up to seven house lots. The ideal would be that six of those
would each be on two acres.
Some areas are proposed to remain in agricultural use, where agriculture is the primary
land use and others would be subordinate to agriculture. Any new zoning written for these
areas has to recognize the realities of modern agriculture. Modem agriculture is a business
enterprise. Most contemporary farm operations cannot sLuvive without some secondary source
of income. Some farmers have a side business, what is referred to as agriculture related
commerce, such as equipment sales, fertilizer sales, etc. This should be provided for in the
zoning ordinance.
There are areas designated as rural residential, lower density, generally a range of one
house every two acres. Others are designated suburban residential, four dwellings per acre,
meaning a mix of densities envisioned for these areas such as subdivisions with two acre house
lots or multiple residence development.
The hamlets of Etna and Varna are seen as opportunities. They have suffered
somewhat, especially Varna because of traffic conditions in the area. They would be
opportunities for channeling new commercial development into these areas and also additional
residential development, with somewhat higher densities than the suburban residential.
Industry /business /research areas have been developed and they are proposing
substantial opportunities for new development, light industrial, office and research type of
enterprises. One area is west of Hanshaw Road, behind the SPCA, and one reason for choosing
the area is because it is in the airport runway approach zone, so you need to be careful what
uses are allowed in the area, avoiding heavy residential or institutional development.
®
Retail/ commercial areas are conservative. There is opportunity for limited growth in
terms of retail, but none of the proposed retail areas are large enough to accommodate major
big box, shopping center type development. The decision has been made that that type of
development is better for Cortland or Ithaca, and the Town should focus on providing
neighborhood type retail commercial enterprises.
One of the major problem areas identified in the course of the plan is the Route 13
corridor from the Village of Dryden to Route 366. There is rural residential area proposed
there, however, within 500 feet of Route 13 it is proposed have an overlay district. This district
recognizes the fact that Route 13 is not really an attractive place to build a home, but at the
same time they don't want a lot of strip commercial development. The proposal is to allow
office type development as well as institutional development, ie churches. They are proposing
some fairly strict standards regarding what the scale of such development would be, ie
maximum caps on the land area that buildings and parking could cover and specific
recommendations for additional buffers between the development and residential areas.
G Frantz demonstrated what zoning might look like for the hamlet of Varna, with
designated areas for separate manufactured housing to better control that type of development.
There would be allowances for a higher residential density and areas for neighborhood
commercial development. The intent is to recreate a village in Varna and increase the quality
and availability of commercial neighborhood retail services and hopefully get people within
walking /biking /bus distance of where they want to go. Supv Varvayanis asked if the
population density for viable mass transit, without subsidy, would need to be 6,500 per square
mile and G Frantz said that was correct.
40 A map was displayed showing existing water and sewer services. The plan calls for
extension of those services into Etna and the area along Etna Road back to Hanshaw Road over
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Tm 10 -1 -o3
the next 20 years. This is an investment that could be used to channel development into this
area. Around the Village of Dryden the proposal is to serve existing residential development
west of Route 38 and along Cake Road, extend it eastward to Livermore Road and westward
back toward Yellow* Barn Road. This correlates with the areas designated for
suburban/ residential development, to channel development into these areas and hopefully any
future development in the Town will happen there. These areas were chosen based on
pro.mmity to the current municipal systems and natural barriers such as wetlands.
The plan for development around Etna has the opportunity of feeding traffic west to
Hanshaw Road, down to Route 13 and feeding traffic into the city via Route 13. Other areas
would likely travel Test Dryden Road to Hanshaw Road to Warren Road, into Lansing and then
to Ithaca.
For future transportation and recreation, G Frantz said the Town at this point is fairly
deficient in terms of what: are called community parks. The community associations have done
a good job of serving the communities with "neighborhood parks ", and the comprehensive plan
is proposing the development of community parks, including soccer fields, baseball diamond,
picnic facilities, an area for informal recreational pursuits and leisure activities. The park
could be an acre in size and acquired as a dedication by a developer. A neighborhood park
would serve people within a 2500' walking distance. A successful neighborhood park is one
where the people in the neighborhood use it and nobody else in the town really knows about it,
there is generally no parking because everyone walks to it. The plan proposes a series of them,
one between Yellow Barn and Irish Settlement Road, one between Irish Settlement and the
Village boundary, one east of the Village, one south of Etna Road and east of Pinckney (to
supplement the existing facility in Etna), and in Varna at the Ellis Hollow Community
Association. (Bethel Grove will be added to the map.)
The plan calls a series of bike paths to supplement the existing bicycle/ pedestrian
paths in the Town. It proposes a trail from the East Ithaca Recreation Way in the Town of
Ithaca along the old railroad right -of -way to connect East Ithaca with Varna, Etna, Freeville
and back into Dryden and the Jim Schug Trail. A bike path within a future residential area
from Yellow Barn into the Village of Dryden and a north -south connector to the proposed
future park. It also proposes a connection from the eastern end of Ellis Hollow through the
valley to East Ithaca, connecting with the Ellis Hollow Community Association.
G Frantz noted that the parks and bikeways will follow residential development. The
park sites can be acquired through the subdivision parks and open space dedication process,
and the bike paths can be acquired the same way.
There is one proposed road segment: that he said the Town should plan for in the area
wrest of the Village of Dryden. They expect vehicles will travel Ferguson Road toward Ithaca,
avoiding Route 13, and want to see a cross road" from Ferguson Road to 13. G Frantz said
this could be built by developers as subdivisions develop. This would be a "controlled access
road", meaning developers are not allowed to build houses along the road. There would be no
driveways and traffic would be allowed to flow smoothly. A 90 -100' right of way is suggested to
provide additional buffering, two lanes, 24' wide. He said this would discourage people from
using Yellow Barn Road and Irish Settlement Roads, Jack Bush said it might make more
sense, because Irish Settlement is already a County road, to encourage the heaviest: traffic to
use that route. G Prantz said access would need to be limited, and Cl Grantham said that
could probably be done with zoning. J Bush said that traffic is already trying to travel as far as
it can on Ferguson Road, and stop signs were recently installed on Yellow Barn Road to help
discourage use of that road. It may make more sense to try and keep traffic from any new
development and continue to use Irish Settlement Road. G .Frantz said another tool the town
Page 9 of I I
'M 10-1-03
could use would be to impose additional setbacks on Ferguson and Irish Settlement Roads for
new housing and make them controlled access roads. ,e,
�Q.
Cl Michaels asked about the boundaries of the sewer districts, and G Frantz saidn�s no
proposal for extension beyond Mott Road near of the Village of Dryden. Cl Michaels said there
is currently a proposal to make a water district contiguous with the sewer district in that area
and G Frantz said that could be incorporated into the plan.
The next step in the process of adopting the plan is for the Planning Board to hold a
public hearing. They can then recommend the plan in final form to the Town Board, The Town
board would prepare the SEAR. The plan would need to be referred to the Tompkins County
Planning Department for their 239(1) and (m) review. The Town Board would hold a public
hearing on the Planning Board recommendation and review the SEQR prior to adoption. G
Frantz suggested that any comments received thus far from County Planning be forwarded to
the Planning Board.
The Water Resources Council has sent: the Town notice that there is an opening on that
council and asking for recommendations. Municipalities used to have appointed seats on the
Council, but that has changed and the positions are now appointed by the County.
Cl Michaels asked about the status of the annexation matter. Atty Perkins has
provided board members with copies of the transcript of the hearing, the original being filed
with the Town Clerk. The board needs to decide on findings. Supv Varvayanis has asked Atty
Perkins to draft those and forward them to the board to consider. A decision needs to be made
by November 12 or the board will be deemed to have approved it. Cl Michaels said the most
critical piece of information he wants is what Hunt Engineers has to say about the cost of our
own water district. They anticipate having that draft by the end of October.
The County has not resubmitted a petition and Atty Perkins believes they have no
intention of doing so. Cl Michaels said they could have resubmitted and not jeopardized their
current petition, and Atty Perkins said that was true. Atty Perkins said the Town's concerns
have been addressed, but he isn't sure there is anything the County can do about them other
than file a new petition, unless the Town is willing to waive all the objection. Supv Varvayanis
said they could come and submit the correct maps, but that doesn't mean that the maps in the
original submission were the right maps. Cl Michaels said in his opinion the only way to cure
it is to file a new petition. Atty Perkins said the board could vote on strictly the objections
which would deny it based on technicalities. Cl Michaels said he would just as soon wait until
the report is received from Hunt Engineers. Cl Michaels asked Atty Perkins to send Gus
Katsiroumbas a copy of the letter the Town had sent to the County. Supv Varvayanis said he
assumed Gus had been sitting back, waiting for the County to take care of t:hinngs.
The draft of
the master plan
will
be placed
on the web and
hard copies available at the
Town Hall after the
Planning Board
has
held their
hearing and it is in final form.
Kevin Ezell reported to the board that the project of digitizing the records in the Zoning
Office is progressing nicely, with only three years of building permit files left to scan, fifteen
years have been completed. Special perrmt^s, site plans and zoning variances still remain to be
done. When they are scanned they go directly to the server and is backed up to a separate
hard drive. This information goes to the building permit program for access from a separate
site station. They have had computer problems beginning in July. SDG is working at:
transferring data from one hard drive to another. A computer had been rented for a couple of
months because it seemed more cost efficient for the intended purpose. He intends to move a
Ocomputer that he uses from Highway into his office after the file cabinets are removed.
Rige 10 of 1 I
TB 1U-1a13
There was a networking issue, with the Court feeling that it's system was not secure,
and the Court wanting to disconnect from the network and have their own mini network.
There is another DSL modem. Supv Varvayanis said people could get in to the records via the
Internet. K Ezell said there is fire wall protection on the DSL modems.
After discussion, the board decided to prepare an RFP for computer network /service
and Cl Grantham will draft that based on Stu Berg's report (done during the Little Grace
Commission" review) to make sure that we have security, backup and efficiency. K Ezell said
that report had never been received, and Cl Grantham said the whole report did not get done,
but Stu Berg's portion did. Cl Michaels said we should budget for training for employees for
any new software the Town may acquire. K Ezell said he is working at setting up e-mail
addresses for employees, and one thing to consider is the space provided for each one. A
problem has been encountered with the hotmail address and the Clerk was unable to receive
updates from Bolton Point for the billing system. A few have been established through the DSL
for now. The Board agrees that each individual should have their own e-mail address. K Ezell
said he is also not sure that Lightlink is the best place for hosting the website and he is looking
into that.
On motion made, seconded and unanimously carried, the board moved into executive
session at 10:30 p.m. to discuss labor negotiations. No action was taken and the meeting was
adjourned at 10:40 p.m,
Respectfully submitted,
Bambi L. Hollenbeck
Town Clerk
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