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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-08-11TB 8-11-16 Page 1 of 6 TOWN OF DRYDEN TOWN BOARD MEETING August 11, 2016 Present: Supervisor Jason Leifer, Cl Daniel Lamb, Cl Linda Lavine, Cl Deborah Cipolla-Dennis, Cl Kathrin Servoss Elected Officials: Bambi L. Avery, Town Clerk Other Town Staff: Jennifer Case, Bookkeeper Ray Burger, Director of Planning Supv Leifer called the meeting called to order at 7:05 pm. Abstract Approval Supv Leifer said there is one voucher that he will review with the Recreation Director for $250 that appears to be to have someone run the adult softball league. Because services have been rendered and it is under the $500 threshold for pre-approval, the board will pay it, but Supv Leifer will talk with her about the need for that in the future. It could be that it is setoff by league fees. RESOLUTION #134 (2016) – APPROVE ABSTRACT #8 Supv Leifer offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby approves Abstract #8, as audited, general vouchers #556 through #630 ($757,699.30) and TA vouchers #79 through #82 ($6,062.78), totaling $763,762.08. 2nd Cl Cipolla-Dennis Roll Call Vote Cl Lavine Yes Cl Cipolla-Dennis Yes Cl Servoss Yes Cl Lamb Yes Supv Leifer Yes Budget Modification The Supervisor’s office needs a budget mod of $228.00 from supervisor contractual miscellaneous to office supplies. Only $500 was budgeted for office supplies and it’s necessary to move this because of the expense of ink and toner. RESOLUTION #135 (2016) – APPROVE BUDGET MODIFICATION Supv Leifer offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby approves the following budget modification : From Acct To Acct A1220.450 Supv Contractual Misc A1220.451 Supv Office Supplies $ 228.00 2nd Cl Cipolla-Dennis TB 8-11-16 Page 2 of 6 Roll Call Vote Cl Lavine Yes Cl Cipolla-Dennis Yes Cl Servoss Yes Cl Lamb Yes Supv Leifer Yes Budget Schedule The board discussed a schedule and what they would like to see from department heads with respect to their budget requests. Supv Leifer said he would also like a meeting where the fire departments could come and discuss their budgets with the board. Cl Cipolla -Dennis stated the use of fund balance has to change and the town will either have to cut services pretty dramatically or increase taxes. It needs to be explained to the public in a no -nonsense way and we need to get their feedback. After discussion, it was decided that it would be best to do this during the development stage of the budget. Department heads will provide a PowerPoint presentation on what their department does and is responsible for, and a general explanation of their budget request to the board publicly on September 8, 2016, prior to the agenda meeting. This will give the public an opportunity to understand what each department does and what it takes to run that department. The presentations will be due to the board by September 1, with public presentations (ten minutes or so) at the September 8 board meeting. Because the Highway Department’s budget is so large, they may need additional time. Budget workshops are scheduled for September 20 and September 21 at 5:00 p.m. at the town hall. Supv Leifer will have the preliminary budget developed by the end of September. There will be additional budget meetings between then and the public hearing on the budget. He doesn’t expect the budget will be voted on the same night as the public hearing unless there is absolutely no comment on it. Renewable Energy Law Update Cl Cipolla-Dennis reported that the Planning Board at its last meeting passed a resolution regarding our renewable energy law. They are recommending that the town allow larger solar installations of up to two megawatts. The resolution reads: Whereas it is in the public interest to provide for and encourage renewable energy systems when measures are taken to minimize adverse impacts on neighboring properties and protect the public health, safety and welfare, and Whereas the current Town Renewable Energy Law (Local Law 5, 2006) restricts roof- or building-mounted solar collectors to those with a total surface area not to exceed 2,000 square feet, and Whereas solar systems with more than 2000 square feet of collecting area, but less than 2 MW of AC electric production can benefit the residents of Dryden by offering a renewable source for some of their power needs or the needs of other electric grid electricity consumers, and Whereas community solar installations managed by a community solar facility, can benefit residents by offering them a way to use solar power without mounting panels on their house or yard, Be it Resolved that the Dryden Planning Board recommends to the Town Board of Dryden that it amends the Renewable Energy Law to permit with more than 2000 square feet of collecting area but less TB 8-11-16 Page 3 of 6 than 2 MW of AC electric production in Conservation, Rural Agriculture, Mixed-Use Commercial, and Light Industrial zoning districts with Special Permit Approval, and Be it further Resolved that the Dryden Planning Board recommends to the Town Board of Dryden the amendments to the Renewable Energy Law include consideration of performance, decommissioning, and abandonment security bonds, height limitations, sufficient boundary setbacks to avoid conflicts in access to solar energy, and minimization of glare and other eyesore qualities. Be it further Resolved that the Dryden Planning Board recommends to the Town Board of Dryden that these amendments discourage solar installations on prime farm lands and in areas of potential environmental sensitivity, such as flood plains, culturally significant locations, wetlands and their buffers, protected conservation lands, and County Unique Natural Areas. Be it further Resolved that the Dryden Planning Board recommends to the Town Board of Dryden that these amendments require that the lease agreements be approved by the town to insure they contain sufficient protections for the landowner and the long-term usability of the land. Cl Cipolla Dennis said there is still work to be done and some things to consider, and she is willing to look at specifics and provide an initial redline ver sion that could be reviewed by the Planning Director and the board before sending it on to the town attorneys. Supv Leifer understands that Ulysses has something in place that we could look at and County Planning is also working on one as a model for the towns, but he isn’t sure what stage they are with it. There was discussion about what the current maximum allowable size is, whether or when it might change, and whether the town would want to make provisions for something different. Size would be handled through the special use permit process. Supv Leifer asked Ray Burger to begin working on this. The board would like to have it completed by the end of the year. Planning Department Update SUP for Verizon - Verizon is still waiting on a report from the State Historic Preservation Office so they can’t complete the SEQR. There is a chance it will come in before next week but if not, there will be no need to continue the public hearing. 1061 Dryden Road PUD – A public hearing was held by the Planning Board and their recommendations are in their minutes, so they have done their part. This starts a 60-day clock for the Town Board to act and SEQR will be part of that review. The Town Board can approve it as it is, or with modifications, changes and conditions. Our PUD law says SEQR is required at this stage. It is not so clearly spelled out that it should be done also at the development plan stage with the Town Board, but the implications are there. Site plan will include access to propert y. Supv Leifer said he has an idea that might help with access and he wants to talk with the developer about it. It involves a parcel the town owns on Mt Pleasant Road and may help with the trail and alleviate some traffic concerns on Route 366. Infrastructure guidelines – Supv Leifer said the Town Board should direct the Planning Board to work on this as they requested. It can be done informally and Cl Cipolla-Dennis will let the Planning Board know that the Town Board would like them to move forward. Borger Natural Gas Compressor Station has applied for a building permit for an expansion and there may implications with our moratorium. R Burger will clarify this with the town attorneys. TB 8-11-16 Page 4 of 6 Tiny Timbers Subdivision will need a variance because some lots don’t have any road frontage. Dominion Pipeline running under Virgil Creek has been exposed by erosion and they will be lowering it 5 feet to get it back under the bed. In the Village of Dryden the Express Mart/McDonalds will be demolished at the end of August and will rebuild with a goal of reopening after 11 weeks. Note: Because Express Mart is closing for a period of time Casella trash tags will be unavailable in town. The Clerks office will have Casella trash tags for at least that period of time. The clerk and bookkeeper are currently trying to determine how to account for that expenditure and income. Board members have the Planning Department’s monthly report. R Burger noted there are eight new homes being built this month. They are reviewing plans for the next phase of Poets Landing and construction will start this fall. Cl Lavine noted that someone recently mentioned to her that they no longer feel as safe in the Village of Dryden as they used to and have begun to avoid coming to the village. R Burger will mention it to the Village Police Department. Joe Laquatra will be resigning from the Planning Board effective the end of this month. The board will need to appoint a new chair in September and move the current alterna te to the board. Then there will be two alternate spots to be filled. CDBG Revolving Funds Cl Lamb reported we should soon have a proposal from Alternatives Federal Credit Union and an outline on how this CDBG program will be run. He has reviewed this with HUD in Buffalo. We will model the program after what the City of Corning has done. It will be basically loaning money for economic development. It has to provide job-creating type work, equipment, or we may consider working capital loans. We won’t do housing with this funding. He was encouraged that HUD said we have some flexibility and Alternatives is interested in Dryden and is making a push to become more present in rural areas. The town will work with Alternatives recommendations. They will put a good deal of time into vetting the applications. The town will promote the program and provide information on our website with a link to Alternatives. The Town Board will have final say on approval, but Alternatives will score them. The board should authorize a loan approval committee. Alternatives will receive an administrative fee. The town currently has $163,000 for this. $50,000 is with TCAD. Staff at TCAD has been asked to work with Hopshire for a bridge loan. Hopshire got a state grant for the event space they are working on. The town needs to remind folks that this funding is there with TCAD. There is also $10,000 in seed money at Alternatives for Individual Development Accounts. Trail Easements The Rail Trail Task Force has one signed easement and others ready to be signed. The board will need to hold a public hearing when several (12 or so) have been secured. There is grant funding for trail construction, but we need to have easements in hand to apply. TB 8-11-16 Page 5 of 6 With respect to the Game Farm, Supv Leifer has asked Bob Beck to follow up with them. He spoke with Barbara Lifton recently, and her staff person is still aware of the situation. The person who was helping at DEC has since retired and not yet been replaced. Getting more easements in place will help drive everything, and Cl Lamb would like to make a public announcement when the first twelve are in place. Montgomery Park Revitalization funding The board passed a resolution of support previously. Supv Leier will talk with the town attorneys about funding it from the recreation reserve. The resolution will likely be subject to permissive referendum. He would like to pass the resolution next week. Climate Smart Communities Pledge resolution Cl Cipolla-Dennis has shared the proposed resolution and it will be on next week’s agenda. Unfinished Business Zoning Amendment The public hearing is still open. Supv Leifer recommends taking no action at this point because it could interfere with the PUD process in Varna. New Business Fireworks permit Supv Leifer explained we had an application for a fireworks permit in July. We haven’t had a clean process for something like that. It has been traditionally done by the Supervisor’s office. Kevin Ezell looked into it and has suggested dealing with these permits as operating permits. There will be information available for next week’s meeting. IAWTF Project Agreement Board members have been provided with a copy of the proposed agreement and copies of the minutes of the July 13, 2016 SJC meeting. This will be on the agenda next week. Other Business Supv Leifer said he would like to introduce a local law to override the tax levy cap next week and set a public hearing date. It doesn’t mean that we intend to go over the cap, but the number that we have now for the tax roll usually changes between now and after we actually pass the budget. We’ll do everything we can to not go over, but things that contribute to the cap are the fire departments, special districts and regular town operations. You can offset that with fund balance, but we are trying to use less fund balance. The tax cap number is set at .6% and we have a tough row to hoe. The special districts are about infrastructure and maintenance. Consolidation of districts, if it gets done before budget season, may let us easily avoid using assessments to fund those and instead use operating and maintenance fees in the water charges, but right now we have different districts with different formulas. He recommends scheduling the public hearing for some time in September, perhaps as a separate meeting. Town Clerk Bambi Avery said she would be asking the board to authorize the Supervisor to sign a contract for dog enumeration. It was budgeted for 2016 and should be TB 8-11-16 Page 6 of 6 completed before year end. This process has paid for itself in the past and generates revenue into the coming years. There being no further business, on motion made, seconded and unanimously carried, the meeting was adjourned at 8:28 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Bambi L. Avery Town Clerk