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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-05-10TB 5-10-18 Page 1 of 7 TOWN OF DRYDEN TOWN BOARD MEETING May 10, 2018 Present: Supervisor Jason Leifer, Cl Daniel Lamb, Cl Linda Lavine, Cl Kathrin Servoss, Cl Alice Green Elected Officials: Bambi L. Avery, Town Clerk Rick Young, Highway Superintendent Other Town Staff: Ray Burger, Planning Director Jennifer Case, Bookkeeper Supv Leifer opened the meeting at 7:00 p.m. Bridge Project Update Cl Servoss reported that she had received a call from Erin Cole at DOT a week ago who said the Town Board must choose options before the Section 106 can go forward. She thought that meant a preferred option. At the legislature meeting the following Tuesday she mentioned the board would discuss the bridge today and choose a preferred option. Cl Servoss said she spoke with Erin Cole again and thinks the terminology being used is confusing. The board will not choose a preferred option today and are going to slow down on the Freese Road bridge because the Section 106 review will take a long time. DOT has indicated that the deadline for this project only will be extended. George Road bridge will move forward as required by the BridgeNY grant program. The Section 106 review could take several months and when that is completed the project will move forward. The Board will not take any action until the SHPO findings are in place. The board then decides what option is best for the town and submits its final report to Federal Highway (through NYS DOT) for their approval. Doug Mills has communicated with consulting party status people requesting that all communication with SHPO regarding this project be handled through DOT on behalf of the FHWA. They will receive all pertinent information at the same time it is sent to SHPO. He asked them not to contact Barton & Loguidice, SHPO, or FHWA for project information. All communications should go through Doug Mills at DOT (and copied to the town board for continuity). There will be a meeting May 15 at 11:00 a.m. for consulting parties in Syracuse at DOT offices. Representatives from NYS DOT, Federal Highway Administration and SHPO will be in attendance as well as Cl Servoss, Jeff Smith from Tompkins County, Ben from Barton & Loguidice and Supv Leifer. Cl Servoss will take the town’s first reimbursement request from the town to DOT that day. The next public information meeting will be after the SHPO review is complete. 2150 Lawsuit Update There were oral arguments on May 4 before Judge Faughn on the newest lawsuit. Our attorney reported that the Judge cut right to questions and took Mr Maines to task on the question of what the basis is to say solar panels are buildings for Town Law 280-a purposes. He reserved judgment so a decision is expected in 60 days. The two 2017 lawsuits are pending on appeal. A number of motions were filed but most have been withdrawn and some TB 5-10-18 Page 2 of 7 withdrawn after already responded to. This does not affect the Ellis Tract project but work will not proceed on 2150 Dryden Road. Emergency Services Committee Rick Young reported the first meeting had a good turnout. Every department was represented and one village mayor and trustee. They discussed response plans and how to help each other out. They are putting together a list of each department’s resources so they can share some things. They will be going over response plans, who goes where, what will happen, and trying to get the ball rolling. It seemed to be a positive meeting. B Avery reminded him that because this is an official town c ommittee there should be public notice of these meetings and there should be minutes from the meetings. Abstract Approval RESOLUTION #86 (2018) – APPROVE ABSTRACT #5 Cl Servoss offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby approves Abstract #5, as audited, vouchers #272 through #345, totaling $228,195.24, together with the following payments yet to be entered: Tompkins County Health Insurance Consortium not to exceed $70,000.00 Lincoln Financial not to exceed $800.00 NYS Comptroller Justice Fund not to exceed $20,000.00 MSA Group (fidelity bond renewal) not to exceed $700.00 2nd Cl Green Roll Call Vote Cl Lavine Yes Cl Green Yes Cl Servoss Yes Cl Lamb Yes Supv Leifer Yes Budget Modification There is a budget modification necessary for the 2017 budget for one of the special districts. RESOLUTION #87 (2018) – 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 for the 2017 budget. From To SW6-8340.4 Trans/Dist. Contr. SW6-9089.8 Medicare 9.11 2nd Cl Green Roll Call Vote Cl Lavine Yes Cl Green Yes Cl Servoss Yes TB 5-10-18 Page 3 of 7 Cl Lamb Yes Supv Leifer Yes Swift 911 Update This notification process is up and running for Borger Station notifications. Dana Magnasun has been provided with a script to use for notifications (for those who sign up) prior to a Borger blow down. End of Year Financial Report Supv Leifer reported the following increases and a decrease in fund balances: A Fund +$123,250 B Fund +$44,897 DA Fund +$196,260 DB Fund -$80,811 $34,000 - second (double?) payment of the Buffalo money was moved to Trust & Agency $25,000 - went from A fund balance to A fund DPW equipment reserve $36,000 - encumbered in the A fund for DPW equipment purchase (2018 Chev y crew cab to be delivered in 2018) $150,000 - encumbered in DA for the purchase of two trucks to be delivered in 2018 $110,000 - encumbered in DB for paving that didn’t get completed in 2017 to be done in 2018. We are left with $360,000 in three of the funds and are roughly $280,000 in the black overall. Staff Compensation Study RFP Cl Green reported that the personnel and finance committee has been talking about the possibility of a study to look at staff compensation for internal consistency and to compare to the market. We don’t currently have a roster of salaries and increments that gives a baseline for setting salaries. She has talked with someone in HR in the city and got a template for an RFP and a list of firms that do this kind of work. The committee talked about what we could afford for such a study. It seemed logical to set aside elected officials and dog control officers and focus on that tier of employees who are non-elected. That leaves 23 non-union staff to look at. The idea is to create an RFP and determine what it would cost (with at least three estimates) to find out how our compensation for staff compares. The time line would be such that we could build a figure into the 2019 budget for the cost of the study. A work tasks analysis would be done for each position and then they look at comparable market values. The result would be a rational for our salary roster. Cl Lamb may be able to have a group of students do the study. Cl Green will share the RFP template with him. She will also call the Association of Towns and see what information they may have or process they might recommend. Website Supv Leifer explained we are still using a Wordpress platform – updated version. He would like to get a focus group together to decide what we want the website to do for the town, define that and then look for a vendor. He suggested involving some people from the public and scheduling a meeting in June. He would like to have something that will cross-post to the Facebook page and other platforms and perhaps has an efficient email collector. It should be user friendly for employees. Cl Lavine may know some students who can help and will contact TB 5-10-18 Page 4 of 7 them. Cl Green would like to talk with department heads about their needs and what they would like to see on the website. Town Staff Meeting Cl Green announced there will be an all staff meeting on May 24 at 2:00 p.m. The goal for the agenda is to give folks an opportunity to hear what’s happening across departments, what they are working on, challenges they are facing, updates about building use issues, and procedural issues that people need reminders about. Modern Living Rentals Stormwater Agreement The SWPPP has been completed for the 802 Dryden Road town home project. There is a stormwater maintenance agreement and associated easement that is ready for signature. This can be approved next week. Meeting Facilitation Training Cl Servoss has spoken with someone at Community Dispute Resolution Center and they can tailor a training toward facilitating and deescalating heated meetings. They suggest having town board members and committee chairs attend. They charge $200 per hour for the training and expect it will be an hour or an hour and a half. Cl Servoss will talk with them again on Monday. The training would likely be scheduled on an evening in June, possibly June 7. Ag Advisory Committee request The Ag Advisory Committee, in looking at the action items in their plan, has requested that the Town install 20 Right to Farm signs at 16 different identified locations. The cost of each sign is about $115.00. They would be placed with the Welcome to the Town of Dryden signs. Cl Green said she read the Ag Plan and it seems that we would want to honor our farmers and follow through on the plan that was approved. There was discussion about the design of the sign and Cl Lavine would like a more attractive sign. R Young and Craig Schutt will work on sign options. B Avery suggested a vote on design could be taken at Dairy Day. C Schutt will talk with Ag Committee members. RESOLUTION #88 (2018) – AUTHORIZE PURCHASE OF RIGHT TO FARM SIGNS Supv Leifer offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby supports the Agriculture Advisory Committee’s resolution requesting 20 Right to Farm signs to be installed by the Highway Department at a cost not to exceed $2,500.00, funds to be used from the Highway Department’s sign budget and a budget modification will be made if necessary. 2nd Cl Servoss Roll Call Vote Cl Lavine Abstain Cl Green Yes Cl Servoss Yes Cl Lamb Yes Supv Leifer Yes TB 5-10-18 Page 5 of 7 Cl Lamb is concerned that the average person doesn’t understand what Right to Farm means. Cl Servoss noted there has been a request from the Ag Committee to add their plan to the Comprehensive Plan. The Conservation Board would like their Natural Resources Plan also added. There was discussion about whether that would require a public hearing and that they could perhaps be appended. It is time to review the Comp Plan and in that process and adoption the Ag and Natural Resources plans could be included. R Burger suggested that funds be added to the 2019 budget for a consultant to assist in the process. R Burger will work with the town attorney to determine what needs to be done in order to append these two plans to the Comp Plan. There will be two public hearings next week: Unsafe structure on Morris Road and Camp Earth Connection Special Use Permit. Rick Young will not be available for next week’s meeting and asked the board for a resolution to purchase a new Gradall XL4100V off state bid. The one we have is a 1993 and needs frequent repair. It is used year round. The price is $388,536.44 to be paid over three years (3 annual installments, 3.69% interest rate). The first year payment will c ome from this year’s budget. The cost of the machine will go up next year. RESOLUTION #89 (2018) – AUTHORIZE PURCHASE OF GRADALL Supv Leifer offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby authorizes the purchase of a new Gradall XL4100V at a total cost of $388,536.44 to be paid in three annual installments at 3.69% interest per the proposal dated April 17, 2018. 2nd Cl Servoss Roll Call Vote Cl Lavine Yes Cl Green Yes Cl Servoss Yes Cl Lamb Yes Supv Leifer Yes NYSEG Energy Saver Program R Young explained the fire department has recently entered an agreement for LED light replacement to save on their lighting bill and he asked the representative to look at the town hall and highway garage. The inside 2’ x 2’ fixtures are not available at this time, but the estimate to replace all the 46 outside fixtures at town hall with LED would result in a savings of 83%. The total project cost $14,000. NYSEG will contribute and our cost will be $8,000. The result is a savings of $22,000 over the next five years. Cl Servoss requested a copy of the proposal be shared with board members. The board asked him to c heck the purchasing policy and would like him to get other quotes. If this is the sole contractor used by NYSEG and they won’t contribute for other vendors that could be a different story. Cl Lavine and neighbors on Ringwood Road are concerned about a property at 812 Ringwood Road. There have been 55 emergency calls in the past year for burglary, noise, medical, suspicious, and murder and now there are two registered pedophiles there. It is probably a fire hazard. The property is for sale but the realtor was only allowed to show 1 apartment. It attracts misfits. The neighbors moved and rented their house out because it was impossible to live there, but the renter now wants out of the lease because of the noise alone. A murderer was arrested at this address. Allowing this to continue will lead to deterioration of TB 5-10-18 Page 6 of 7 the property around it. She wondered what the town could do about it. Code Enforcement Officer Kevin Ezell will visit the site tomorrow and get access to what he can. Cl Lamb said the DEC is getting pushback from sportsmen on the rail trail going through the game farm. The town needs to put something on the table, and DEC wants the town to move forward with posting the Parke-Dabes property for hunting use. He has spoken with the Conservation Board and to Andy Zepp of Finger Lakes Land Trust who was involved when the town acquired it. Bow hunting would probably be recommended. J Farquhar said he would meet to develop a hunting policy for the property. That allows the DEC to say they got something out of the negotiation with us. At the meeting they would come up with some concepts of how to allow hunting in that area. Supv Leifer suggested asking Cornell how they handle it on their properties. With respect to easements for the rail trail, Cl Green said they had just received the last easement from Cornell. There was a meeting today with Hanson Aggregates (the old Saunders) and it looks like that will move forward. There are a several others moving along. The town received a $26,000 tourism grant from the County for preliminary design for crossing Route 13 and railing engineering for the FH Fox bridge. Cl Lamb said they were waiting for the NYS budget to come out regarding the sales tax offset he had mentioned earlier. The Governor’s provisions regarding taxing state forest lands was removed from the state budget so it looks like a good opportunity for the town to pursue the sales tax offset. He will be meeting with the County Finance Director in early June about setting this up for the town. It will result in raising the property tax rate but allowing the County to keep more of the sales tax revenue and lowering the county property tax rate for our residents. Overall it will be a savings to taxpayers. There will be increased revenue from the state forest lands and increased revenue from the PILOTS for the solar. Cl Green would like to get a clear picture of what the sales tax revenue has been and how it might project into the future. She would like to l ook at what we would gain in the PILOT vs. what we might potentially be giving back to the county. She would like to see the analysis and what happens if there is any fluctuation. With respect to the charitable contribution fund referenced in the state budget, Cl Lamb said he is convinced that we wouldn’t do that. This seems to be a pushback from the Governor to the Tax Cut and Jobs Act. It is intended as a way for municipalities to set up charitable funds so that if a taxpayer exceeds the state and local income tax deduction level of $10,000 they could make a charitable contribution to a town and get a federal deduction. A very small sliver of the population would benefit from this. It is likely the Federal government will say you can’t do this at some point because charitable organizations have to follow a lot of regulations. He will also be discussing this with the County also. R Burger reported that CAFO grants for soil and water districts to apply for is an open application period. They have been talking to farmers about that but have only gotten two applications in Tompkins County. One is in Freeville. The grant requires a 25% match and is an expense that most farmers can’t afford right now due to low milk prices. There isn’t a lot of interest. There is a grant opportunity through AARP Livable Communities and the Rail Trail Task Force is preparing an application for that. There is no local match. There may be more money available through DOT’s TAP this summer. Cl Green said an application from us would likely be looked on favorably based on the score from the 2016 application. TB 5-10-18 Page 7 of 7 There being no further business, on motion made, seconded and unanimously carried, the meeting was adjourned at 9:02 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Bambi L. Avery Town Clerk