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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-06-21TB 6-21-18 Page 1 of 14 TOWN OF DRYDEN TOWN BOARD MEETING June 21, 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/DPW Superintendent Other Town Staff: Ray Burger, Planning Director Supv Leifer called the meeting to order at 7:07 p.m. Board members and audience recited the pledge of allegiance. SALES TAX OFFSET Cl Lamb explained the town has the option to enter into an agreement with Tompkins County that would save the property tax payers of Dryden some money. T his is an administrative change and a method that could have been used 20 years ago. Currently the County collects sales tax revenues and distributes it to municipalities. The town has the option to allow county to keep most of that money and in return the county lowers its property tax rate. The town then increases its rate to offset the lost revenue from the county. By doing so the town can tax state forest lands that cannot be taxed by the county. By taxing that at the town level we get that revenue that the county wouldn’t have otherwise received. By raising the town tax rate, we will also double the amount town gets for PILOT programs (solar and any others entered into) because those programs are based on tax rates. He said by making this administrative change, every taxpayer in town will pay less in taxes because of increased revenue from the state forest lands and PILOTs. Property tax bills will have a lowe r county tax rate and a higher town tax rate with a lower total tax bill. He is recommending the board make this change. Jay Franklin, Director of Tompkins County Assessment, said in its budget process the County determines what it needs for its tax levy. Based on the taxable value of each taxing jurisdiction, everyone gets their share divided up. What can happen and happens in other municipalities, is they use sales tax to offset the amount that the County wants to collect rather than bring it into their own budget and lower their tax rate. The main places that do this are places that have taxable state-owned forest land. It’s only taxable for school and town tax purposes, but not county taxes. Caroline, Danby, and Newfield have been doing this. Groton does it for village and town outside the village. Enfield tried to do this to tax state park land. That is different than taxable state forest land, so they simply just shifted dollars around. If the town were to take the 2.4 million dollars it received in sales tax money and use it to offset county rate, the total combined tax rate for town and county tax purposes would drop a little over one cent. This is about a $2 savings on a median house. He ran the 2018 data and there is one property that will receive a higher tax bill because the town of Dryden does not allow the parent/grandparent exemption and the county does. Every other property will receive a tax break. It will look odd in the first year when the town tax levy is 2.4 million dollars more. Based on experience there are very few calls because the bottom line amount on a tax bill is not really affected. To do this the County would need a resolution in a timely fashion (by September 1). If the board feels it doesn’t work out, t he process can be changed by resolution. TB 6-21-18 Page 2 of 14 Cl Lamb said the estimated revenue from solar for the projects to date would be about $25,000 and this change will double that figure. Everyone will benefit from this. The board has done its due diligence in background research and he believes it would be malpractice not to do this in terms of service to the constituents and lowering property taxes. RESOLUTION #99 (2018) – AUTHORIZING THE TOWN OF DRYDEN TO UTILIZE SALES TAX REVENUE TO OFFSET THE TOMPKINS COUNTY PROPERTY TAX Cl Lamb offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: WHEREAS, the Dryden Town Board recognizes that it must utilize every administrative tool available to the reduce the property tax burden on taxpayers, WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 544 of New York State’s Real Property Law, the Town of Dryden is currently forgoing an estimated $15,631 annually by not utilizing the sales tax offset option from property taxes on state forest lands within the town, which county government cannot tax, WHEREAS, numerous towns in New York, including Danby, Caroline, and Newfield in Tompkins County, have taken advantage of the sales tax offset option to the benefit of their residents, WHEREAS, Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) agreements are a commonly used tool for encouraging economic development projects, particularly for large scale (2MW and larger) solar installations, WHEREAS, the Town of Dryden will more than double its revenue from all current and future PILOTs that are determined based on the town property tax rates, resulting in an estimated $15,000 to $20,000 additional revenue annually, if it makes use of the sales tax offset, WHEREAS, making this change would result in an overall property tax reduction for nearly all town property taxpayers, with only one parcel experiencing a minor increase, WHEREAS, the Town recognizes that significant additional revenue from PILOTs will result from adopting this change, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Dryden Town Board authorizes Tompkins County to use the Town’s sales tax revenue to offset the county’s property tax rate, effective FY 2019 and indefinitely thereafter. 2nd Supv Leifer Roll Call Vote Cl Lavine Yes Cl Green Yes Cl Servoss Yes Cl Lamb Yes Supv Leifer Yes EMERGENCY SERVICES COMMITTEE Supv Leifer introduced Lee Shurtleff of Tompkins County Emergency Services. He said his office had been involved in discussions with the Supervisor and the Emergency Services Committee about emergency response in the Town of Dryden. He was asked to periodically provide statistics on the number of calls dispatched to the town’s agencies and the response numbers. He presented a report he had complied. The last five columns provide the numbers TB 6-21-18 Page 3 of 14 of calls (fire and ambulance) dispatched to the departments that the town contracts with and how many were responded to. These are year to date numbers. He noted that Dryden Fire does not respond to an EMS call unless they are asked to assist. In contrast, Varna Fire responded to more EMS calls. The Emergency Services Committee is trying to determine how many of these calls are being responded to by the assigned fire department. CNR on the chart indicates calls with no response according to the dispatch office. Every fire or EMS call has assigned units to it. If those assigned units are on the response plan, the center tracks when they go en route. For the calls where an assigned vehicle does not respond, they have to check the records further for notations. In some cases, a fire chief or an EMT may respond directly to the scene without apparatus but will radio in and may cancel other units. That would fall under the COO column in the chart. Dispatch tries to keep track based on radio traffic and direct interaction with responders through the radio system. The official record is always kept by the assigned department. He can’t say 100% whether department responded or not. If the town wants to know for certain, that information the department needs to provide in its monthly reports. Each department tracks information differently. If you ask for response times for instance, Dryden gives responses from the assigned units, not by a chief responding in personal vehicle. Other departments take their response time from whoever comes on the radio and says they are going. This is an example of the difficulty. Volunteer departments are not able to provide the level of service consistently as the public expects and believes they do. It’s easy for us to say that because a fire department responded it was taken care of. You need to delve deeper than that. The center only knows someone accepted it and said it was taken care of. They don’t know what responded, what level of responder went, how many units went, or if it was an adequate response. As discussions proceed, you n eed to start posing questions through the Emergency Services Committee and contract negotiations and determine whether these departments meet the public’s expectation and need. If you are dispatching an agency to be a first response rescue squad in conjunction with the ambulance, are they responding with a certified EMT or a certified first responder? That detail can’t be determined by this information collected at the center. If it is a fire call, what is your expectation? Do you expect that the assigned department is going to respond with an engine, an engine o perator and three interior firefighters and be able to at least start the attack? These numbers don’t tell you that. You only know if a fire truck responded; it doesn’t tell you if the response was adequate. That is where the conversation needs to go. L Shurtleff asked the board to use this information presented as a starting place. It tells about the scope of work being demanded by the public. The board needs to dig deeper and be sure that the response provided by the department is adequate for the needs. Are the departments that are responding getting out with the people and equipment they n eed? The board needs to make clear its expectations at contract time. More specific questions need to be answered in the reports submitted by the departments. The definition of an adequate response should be in the contracts. The committee will discuss what an adequate response is and establish guidelines. Managing resources is the big push. L Shurtleff said to be fair, when department members are volunteers, depending on the time of day no department will be at 100%. The county has asked departments to anticipate the times of weakness and preplan and set up automatic mutual aid processes so problems aren’t encountered on scene. TRINITAS TOWNHOME PROJECT INTRODUCTION Supv Leifer stated this is not a public hearing; there is not yet a complete application. There will potentially be a sketch plan conference next month. The purpose tonight is to present the current design concept and get some feedback from the public. Trinitas went to Varna and got feedback there last month. It looks like the project will be a moderate to large impact and he will ask the board for a resolution to require a full environmental assessment. TB 6-21-18 Page 4 of 14 Kimberly Hansen, Manager of Design and Development at Trinitas, introduced Evan Bryant, Senior Manager of Development, and Brad Bennett, Vice President of Development. She reviewed the attached power point presentation of their proposed development. Ray Burger said this introduction will be followed by a sketch plan conference on July 19 and a public hearing could be held in August. The initial application calls for a short environmental assessment form, but with the scale of this project and the potential for moderate to large impacts, the board should probably call for a full EAF to be submitted on this project. RESOLUTION #100 (2018) – REQUIRE FULL ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FORM FOR THE PROJECT PROPOSED BY TRINITAS VENTURES ON DRYDEN ROAD AND MT PLEASANT ROAD Supv Leifer offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby requires that Trinitas Ventures provide a Full Environmental Assessment Form for its proposed project on Dryden Road and Mt Pleasant Road in the Town of Dryden. 2nd Cl Green Roll Call Vote Cl Lavine Yes Cl Green Yes Cl Servoss Yes Cl Lamb Yes Supv Leifer Yes Board Comment/Questions: • Outdoor pool may not be appropriate in this climate. • Why take away green space and encroach on neighbors? • Is the project viable without the variances? • The project needs a certain density for the project to work for the developer. • Developer is doing everything it can to ensure the most green space possible and looking into non-traditional ways of doing that. • Developer is seeking a green bonus and will meet 2009 neighborhood development standards. • Developer will have report showing how they meet the required 40 points. • Using heat exchange units? Unknown at this point. • Target population? Typically 20-30 year olds, but anyone is welcome. • Yearly or multi-year lease? Won’t require more than a one-year lease. • Community is concerned about transient population. • Developer has a U-Life program with a focus on engaging residents in the community. • There is no planned area for young children. • Developer doesn’t expect each 20-30 year old to own a car. • Developer provides a shuttle. • LimeBike, Ithaca Car Share and T-Cat bus are available for transportation. • An electric vehicle charging station should be considered. • Property management staff will be on site (8-10 full time employees). • A courtesy officer will live in the community as well as some staff. • Community members will be hired to work in the club house. • Percentage of budget allocated to management will be provided. • 800 square feet of retail seems small compared to the population of Varna. TB 6-21-18 Page 5 of 14 • A percentage of owner-occupied units is preferred, and if not offered, explain why. • Affordable housing is an issue in Tompkins County. • Affordable housing is not currently the developer’s model, but they will investigate it. • Would the design be different if they targeted families? No, they will look into a playground. • Use of the Varna Trail will be encouraged; they could design areas for gathering. • Currently going through site plan process and engaging the community in Ann Arbor. • Projects are designed to fit with local surroundings. Public Comment/Questions • Why call it Fall Creek Village? The name should include the word Varna. • All planned units are rental. • Contact the TCAT bus system before completing the design. • Look at the Cornell East Hill Village. One thing asked for in those charrettes was facilities for childcare. Could any units be fitted for childcare? • At the open house in Varna it was stated that there may be 6 children living in the development. • Amenities are only open to who rent there; a childcare facility would likely be the same. • There isn’t much talk about what the development offers the surrounding community. • Developer is open to suggestions regarding occupants interacting in the community and looking for models for incentivizing the program. • Making the development its own compound is not friendly to the other residents of Varna. • Don’t segregate the development from the rest of the community. • The average age of a person living in Varna is 44; now there will be a transient population of 600 students. How will those 600 mix with the other 1100 current residents? • Varna is small; adding so many people is a dramatic change. • What are the solutions to the traffic issues? Winter weather causes problems. • The parking calculation in the Zoning Law is 1 per dwelling unit when it is up to 3 occupants. Beyond that it goes one per bedroom. • The increased vehicles is a huge impact. • There should be assurances that the shuttle service will continue. • Developer should look into what the trend is for transportation. • Future parking can be provided if it becomes an issue. • This company markets to college students. • Housing is needed for working class people. • This is designed for Cornell money. • This is not the only development happening in Varna. • Consider the Varna Community Plan; we are moving beyond the anticipated numbers. • Look at the overall community effect. • The Varna community wants owner-occupied housing. • This will be almost 100% Cornell rental which is way out of proportion to the 1:1 rental vs owner-occupied housing referred to in the Varna plan. • The board should consider the effect on the community that lives there now. • Cornell is currently significantly expanding its student housing. Does that affect the developer’s market analysis? What happens if the market is saturated and the developer doesn’t make the money it expects to? • Developer has done its research, is aware of the other projects and is not concerned. This is a good project for them. • The project would accommodate the average middle class family. TB 6-21-18 Page 6 of 14 • Developer expects 20-30 year olds because of the proximity to the university, but it would not be undesirable for families. Supv Leifer encouraged the developer to keep talking to Varna and consider a name change. He asked that documents submitted be put on the website as soon as possible. He doesn’t want to have public hearings on unfinished plans. Board members should wait until things are received by Ray before looking at documents. TOWN CLERK RESOLUTION #101 (2018) – APPROVE MINUTES Supv Leifer offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby approves the meeting minutes of May 10 and May 17, 2018. 2nd Cl Lamb Roll Call Vote Cl Lavine Yes Cl Green Yes Cl Servoss Absent Cl Lamb Yes Supv Leifer Yes CITIZENS PRIVILEGE Katie Quinn-Jacobs, 52 Sodum Road, representing the local Mothers Out Front group that is asking the board to consider a resolution to create the most stringent possible protections and needed technologies and practices to achieve the lowest emissions in natural gas transmission and compression. NYS DEC has asked for stakeholder input as they draft new or update air emissions standards. Comments will be accepted until July 23, the matter then moves to the drafting phase and a final decision will be made in October. The resolution is six pages and follows a letter put together by a consortium of 104 different organizations last spring. The letter went to Governor Cuomo, Department of Health, Department of Environmental Conservation and the Public Service Commission. The Sierra Club became interested because New York State is becoming a repository for natural gas storage and transmission. They have helped with this resolution. The Town of Dryden has a Title V Facility here, the Borger Station, so the industry has a foothold here. We need to be vigilant here about finding opportunities to produce the best regulations possible. Currently Dominion self-reports and there is no independent check. They use old control technologi es and there are better options available. The board will consider the resolution at the agenda meeting on July 12. Dana Magnasun, 5 Sunny Slope Terrace, is here representing Mothers Out Front in support of the resolution for the DEC. This resolution came to them this week. If feels like a unique situation with the DEC asking for stakeholders to make policy and change things. Dryden has been a powerhouse with environmental issues. There is a Title 5 compressor station in her neighborhood. There are 18 of those in the State of New York and they are the biggest polluters. Dominion did their expansion and MOF had asked about retrofitting of old, leaky compressors and were told it was not part of the project. It would be amazing to implement some standards for retrofitting and having some teeth in the process. If we don’t ask for it, it won’t happen. This is moving in the right direction. What we do today will profoundly affect the children. The timing feels essential to progress. TB 6-21-18 Page 7 of 14 Jim Skaley, 940 Dryden Road, read the attached letter. Janet Morgan, speaking as a resident of Varna, said with respect to the Freese Road bridge, the silence has been deafening, especially for a project that was so time sensitive and rush-rush. With respect to Trinitas, when she was first contacted about the corporation using the Varna Community Center for their open house, she asked what the demographic target was for the development and was given an age range of 18 to 24, which is clearly students. It has now moved up to 30 which might be in the young family range. She read a statement on the town website that says “The town is actively moving forward with implementing the Varna Community Development Plan that was adopted in 2012. The town’s goal is to help initiate investment and spur development that will enhance and improve the overall quality of life for the Varna community.” Not the Trinitas community, but for the Varna community. She said that was written five years ago and perhaps at that time the Town Board was working on those things. She isn’t sure that it is a priority at this moment, and that is why she is urging that the board adopt the moratorium that the Planning Board has suggested. Laurie Snyder said she is also concerned about the lack of information about Freese Road bridge. She is concerned that Trinitas is in the business of building and developing a project but not committed to the long-term 20-year commitment to the neighborhood. Historically they have sold their projects shortly after they are built. She asked whether the requirement of shuttle buses and services would be the responsibility of a new owner. She is concerned about the scope of this and whether there is any guarantee that the rosy picture presented by the company has any validity if the development is sold. She hopes at the next presentation they demonstrate the design in relationship to the steep slope. What has been shown is townhouses on flat landscapes. The site is not flat. How traffic will go up the hill will be interesting and the traffic for 600 human beings coming into Mt Pleasant Road’s steep hill is a major concern. Joe Wilson, seconded everything said by Mothers Out Front about the need for the resolution and the reasons for it. Regarding the moratorium, he said is not targeting Trinitas and its proposal, but will use them as an example. There is a 240+ unit, 660+ person project coming before the board and he would be baffled by a negative declaration following the analysis of the 12-page form they’ve been asked to fill out. There has to be a substantial increase in the amount of energy and greenhouse gas emissions that will come from site. The city, town and county all have fossil fuel and greenhouse gas reduction goals and building efficiency standards that they are putting into regulation. We don’t. We have n othing in our laws or comp plan that addresses those issues at this time. To the extent that the board thinks it has bargaining power, it is simply your ability to negotiate with the developer that will tell the tale. There are no statutes or comp plan provisions to fall back on. The absence of those things is in stark contrast to the values of the community. Not having something on the books along the lines he’s talked about is a glaring omission that needs to be corrected. Board members personally in campaigns for election and talking to the citizenry have said and shown that you are in favor of reducing fossil fuel use and reducing greenhouse gas emissions and having new development become highly efficient. At the recent East Hill Village charrettes the loudest voice the developers heard was no fossil fuels. That’s their voluntary commitment. Nothing in Dryden would require them to do that at this time. The point that is the moratorium was suggested for the reasons the Varna residents have put forth and it was the perfect time and the perfect vehicle to also address these glaring omissions in the comp plan and our statutory framework. He asked board to declare a moratorium and incorporate these reasons for doing so in the resolution. TB 6-21-18 Page 8 of 14 HIGHWAY/DPW SUPERINTENDENT Highway Superintendent Rick Young reported they have been f ixing a lot of storm damage, paving, and putting stone and oil on roads throughout the town. They have replaced several culvert pipes and driveway pipes. With respect to Freese Road bridge, he hasn’t heard anything. Supv Leifer said they had forwarded two needs statements for review and comment by DOT. They will approve what is sent to the Feds for the 106 review. There will be a meeting on George Road in July. R Young provided a list of roads that have been worked on. There will be other road work and those roads be determined after reviewing the budget. Supv Leifer asked that he provide a list of those roads in advance so it can go on the website. Cl Lamb said Cl Servoss asked him to share that the earlier version of the needs statement didn’t cover the bases, and DOT made it clear that the purpose, need s and objectives of the project and the components must be in that order. A couple of other versions were prepared in response and have now been provided to DOT and we are awaiting further feedback. RECREATION DEPARTMENT The department report is posted on the web. There will be no Dryden Lake Festival this year and they are trying to come up with a replacement for September. The basketball tournament was a big hit at Dairy Day and they want to try another one of those. Cl Green said she has met with them since suggested to do again and suggested that the DRYC discuss what will be fresh and good for a September event using the courts. They have some fun ideas coming out of the department about using the courts in a different way. PLANNING DEPARTMENT Monthly update on web. COUNTY BRIEFING Mike Lane said Martha Robertson can’t be here tonight due to a death in the family. He noted the town had received a community celebrations grant for the Dryden Lake Festival and that money cannot automatically be used for another activity without approval by the board that approves those applications. With respect to the STAR Exemption, the state is tinkering with the program again. They have now changed it so the verification of income for the elderly for enhanced star will be done by the state instead of locally. People will have to file three forms with the state to verify, apply for the enhanced STAR and apply for the senior low-income exemption. Our Assessment Department will work hard to help people register. There are 4,559 seniors in the current assessment data base. They have already signed up almost 2800 and will try to get as many as possible done by September. At TC3, Provost John Connors is retiring. They have appointed Paul Reifenheiser as new Provost and he will start June 25. Malvika Talwar has been appointed Associate Provost. The college’s 50th anniversary is this year and they are planning to do something in September. Ground based fireworks and sparklers have been legalized in New York State, including Tompkins County because they have not opted out. TB 6-21-18 Page 9 of 14 The county has been examining ride services like Uber and Lift. The Transportation Committee heard from cab owners who are not happy with Uber and Lift . They are concerned about competition and that the drivers of Uber and Lift cars are conspiring to pretend they are not available in order to get their rates raised. The county will invite the companies in next month to hear their side of the story. It is controversial and the cab companies say they want a level playing field. They are all focusing on the colleges on the weekends because that is when they apparently make their money transporting students to and from activities and parties. Uber drivers may not take drunk people because they are using their own cars. At the end the state legislature session bills were passed for a third County Court Judge and to expand who can be part of the health insurance consortium to include, for example, libraries. It needs to go through the other house also. The County Legislature heard from people concerned with the possibility of the Cayuga Power plant repowering with natural gas and trucking that natural gas in. It is worrisome because of the highly explosive nature of natural gas when compressed. The legislature took a stand and passed a resolution in opposition to trucking in the natural gas. ADVISORY BOARD UPDATES Planning Board – At their last meeting the Planning Board passed a resolution requesting that the Town Board pass a six-month moratorium on further development in Varna. They talked about the Trinitas project, the balance of housing units to rental units and what might be done to encourage more single-family units. They are aware of the Town Board’s directive to provide recommendations for zoning changes to make the zoning around Varna compatible with the Varna plan. Conservation Board – The Conservation Board had a good discussion about easement inspections at their last meeting. They had a specialist from the Finger Lakes Land Trust come in who will provide instruction to about how to do easement inspections on properties. They discussed a deer management plan for the Parke-Dabes property. There was strong support for the town negotiating and contracting with Cornell University’s deer management program for hunting. This would benefit the town because there are a lot of deer and herd management is necessary. Cornell Plantations would likely charge around $460 per year to do the program. Conservationists that have been reluctant to embrace the rail trail through the game farm trail may appreciate that the town has opened additional property to hunting . The Conservation Board is in support of doing this. Cl Lamb explained that he expects the town will have a volunteer stewardship agreement for the Game Farm portion of the trail in a couple of months. It will be a five-year agreement with an option to extend. Dryden Recreation & Youth Commission – The DRYC has taken on the task of beginning to look at various neighborhoods in terms of what residents are looking for from recreation staff. Paula Klaben conducted the first informal survey and they will see those results at next meeting. At their last meeting there was a presentation about the Recreation Partnership and saw statistics from County Youth Services regarding use of drugs and alcohol by high school student and how our statistics compare to other parts of the county and state. They also had a presentation by the Dryden athletic boosters who are looking for collaborative work with the DRYC. Ag Committee – The Committee has interns working with them through Cooperative Extension. No status update on the right to farm signs. TB 6-21-18 Page 10 of 14 Rail Trail Task Force – There are two pieces of a new phase of funding initiative that they are seeking for the rail. One is use of multi-modle monies that Assemblywoman Lifton has set aside for the potential options of crossing Route 13. That funding is not an eligible match for a Federal TAP grant that they have been invited to apply for. The group applied for a Tompkins County Strategic Tourism Initiatives grant and did receive it. That grant will fund looking at an engineering study of to get across Route 13 (bridge or tunnel). When they found the multi-modle monies were not a possible match for the federal grant, they had to go back and think through what to ask for in the TAP process. The pre-application TAP is due in a week and the board voted to go ahead and do the pre-application for a grant that would bring us up to $800,000 toward the cost of crossing Route 13. There is a time crunch because the Strategic Tourism grant enabled a study that would identify the best alternative to get across, and that is what they would ask TAP to pay for. The final application for the TAP grant is in August. By then they hope to have the results of the study and the pieces will fall into place. They will be looking carefully at how to cover the local match for that grant should the application be successful. Emergency Services Committee - addressed previously. Swift 911 – This group has requested that the board form a Safety and Disaster Preparedness Committee and prepared a proposed resolution. Supv Leifer said the structure is fine and he would expect this committee would review the FEMA plans. K Quinn-Jacobs said they been researching FEMA resources that might be useful to the town and will be meeting with Tompkins County Emergency Preparedness folks to see how this group can supplement what is already being done and how to do outreach to the public. They w ant to develop a matrix of possible evacuation sites in the town, identification of what items are required, and which locations have certain features. RESOLUTION #102 (2018) – ESTABLISH SAFETY AND DISASTER PREPAREDNESS COMMITTEE Supv Leifer offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: WHEREAS, the Dryden Town Board (“Town”) recognizes the importance of safety and disaster preparedness as vital to the Town’s welfare, and WHEREAS, the Dryden Town Board desires to establish a Safety and Disaster Preparedness Advisory Committee (“Committee”) for the Town of Dryden to advise the Town Board on issues, whether arising from within the Town or outside of the Town, that impact safety and disaster preparedness within the Town of Dryden and provide recommendations to the Town Board when appropriate, and WHEREAS, the Dryden Town Board desires the Committee to, in additi on to their advisory function, work with the Town of Board, the Dryden community, and other interested parties, to promote safety and disaster preparedness located within the Town of Dryden, now THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT the Dryden Town Board establishes a Safety and Disaster Preparedness Advisory Committee which shall serve at the pleasure of the Town Board, and it is further RESOLVED, the Committee shall consist of the following membership composition: A. The committee shall be composed of five voting members appointed by the Dryden Town Board as follows: (1) Five residents of the Town of Dryden TB 6-21-18 Page 11 of 14 (2) The Town Board shall designate the Chairperson of the Committee yearly. B. The members appointed to the Committee shall serve for a three-year term. Upon initial formation, two members shall serve for a one-year term, two members for a two- year term, and all others for a three-year term. Each year thereafter, reappointments or new appointments will be for three-year terms. C. Members shall serve without salary. RESOLVED, that the Town Board of the Town of Dryden designates the following as the duties of the Committee, subject to revision from time to time at the Town Board’s discretion: A. Advise the Town Board about matters related to safety and disaster preparedn ess. B. Coordinate with local energy supplies to ensure operational safety and provide information of local operations as to the Town of Dryden residents through various media, including a public notification system for activities at local industrial sites. C. Develop disaster preparedness pamphlet and disseminate to the Town of Dryden residents through various avenues. D. Develop a matrix identifying shelters and potential shelters throughout the Township that could be used in the case of a disaster. E. Coordinate and integrate disaster preparedness with Tompkins County and other agencies such as the Red Cross. 2nd Cl Lamb Roll Call Vote Cl Lavine Yes Cl Green Yes Cl Servoss Absent Cl Lamb Yes Supv Leifer Yes OLD BUSINESS 107 Morris Road – Last month the owner was given 30 days to execute the plan. He has bulldozed half the building and landfilled it onsite, but has not secured the property. The building is still an eyesore to the neighborhood and it is not secured against access. The 30- day time limit has run, and the Town Board passed a resolution last month to commence action, so the Planning Department will move forward. 473 Bone Plain Road – R Burger reported there is no discernible progress on the site, but the motion was tabled until august. Apple Orchard PRV – Supv Leifer reported they are still working out the terms of this agreement. He expects it to be wrapped up by September. Salary Compensation RFP – Cl Lamb has the documents that were shared and has talked with his colleagues. There is interest in the ILR to work with his students to do the study. They will start in August and end with a presentation to the board in late November or early December. They will look at internal consistency as well as the market comparison. It will involve a detailed look at job descriptions and titles of all on staff. TB 6-21-18 Page 12 of 14 CDBG Grant – Grant is for $25,000 for a housing quality study. The Planning Department is doing the environmental review. Supv Leifer has list of potential consultants from Stacey Murphy to send the RFP to. NEW BUSINESS Recreation/Parks Impact Fee – Supv Leifer asked board members to review the information provided to them last next month. He would like to get this in place soon, before any final building permit s on large projects are issued. This would be a source to replenish the recreation reserve fund. Budget timeline – Supv Leifer reviewed the attached timeline with board members and said it should be able to get done earlier. The board needs to set a spending target for departments. He recommends building in cushion into the budget ($50,000). R Young will provide an equipment replacement plan and talk with the board about the future of the equipment reserve fund for highway and DPW. When it was set up it was intended to level out equipment purchases each year. Supv Leifer will talk with him in the next month or so. Spring House Road speed limit review – Spring House Road residents have requested a speed limit review. The current speed limit is 45 mph. Supv Leifer received an email from Mike Murphy on the subject. Speed is a concern, but the biggest complaints may be truck traffic. It would have to be posted against trucks, but that would not stop local deliveries. It is a short cut for people around the village. The rail trail crosses the road. Supv Leifer suggested the board work with R Young about truck traffic and enforcement. The board can request a speed limit reduction from the state again. The board will take up a resolution for this next month. Planning Board Request for a Moratorium – this was talked about extensively last week but the board did not do a formal vote. There have been comments tonight and articles in the newspaper. Comments: • We now have a lot of development interest. • East Hill Village will make Dryden more pressured. • It makes sense to stop now and make some rules. • The Varna Plan has been in place for a while; this project is not far off from that. • Folks from Varna have asked that Varna be marketed via the Varna Plan and market conditions have taken care of that. • No need at this point for moratorium. • If a developer asks for something outside the plan, the town can get something for that; it has been done in the past. • Rare that we get a developer willing to put this much capital into the town. • It’s worth negotiating to see what we can get for the town without an unnecessary moratorium. • The developer has not yet submitted a final plan. • Having the moratorium in place would not waste developers’ time either. • The board would not be a position of reacting to each plan that comes along. • The Trinitas comes closer than anyone else to what the plan envisioned despite the criticisms. • Being designed around students does not fit the Varna plan. TB 6-21-18 Page 13 of 14 • The last time the Comp Plan was reviewed it took years; it can’t be done in six months. • Variances have been requested. Atty Sokoni explained that a moratorium is subject to the reasonable test. Your most defensible circumstance in which you can justify having a moratorium is where you have some unforeseen circumstance that arises and you don’t have rules or regulations or a plan in place that addresses that kind of development. In that case, a moratorium would be defensible. You have to say that you need to halt this because you don’t have a plan in place. • The Varna plan does not include inviting 640 student beds. • The Varna plan was made in response to a Lucente proposal that was very similar to what is being proposed. • The moratorium was not requested in response to the Trinitas project. • The Varna Plan was developed because people of Varna asked for sensible zoning for the area, to correct definitions, address densification and how much densification fits within the Comp Plan. • The Varna Plan estimated a 454 bedroom buildout; this project alone covers more than that. • Is there adequate water and sewer capacity? Yes. • Infrastructure is old. • Something needs to be in place with respect to reduction of carbon emissions. • You can get LEED points without a substantial amount of carbon reduction. • The variances the board thinks it can use to negotiate will go to the ZBA, not the Town Board. • There is concern about the message a moratorium sends—that the board doesn’t have the capacity to make decisions on things. • The Varna Plan and Comp Plan both direct development to hamlets. • We want to concentrate development and preserve open space. • The board has the capacity to review projects right now. • To say the market is soft and we might wind up with an empty building has no justification. • If we need more sewer capacity, we can negotiate for it. There is capacity there. • The idea that the project doesn’t integrate with the community remains to be seen. • To say this can’t go forward because we haven’t reconciled the overall development pre ssure in Varna sends a bad message in terms of doing business with the Town of Dryden. • There is no certainty that we can legally justify a moratorium. • More than 5000 beds are currently being built. • Trinitas has a mission statement to its stockholders. • The project could fall into disuse. • Is the company good for its promises to the town? • People may choose to be closer in than Varna; there are closer competitors. • There isn’t a whole lot of room to expand in Varna. • Until now no developers had come forward; now Dryden is the next frontier. • Once you have locked this in you have basically precluded other things. • A moratorium gives an opportunity to think these things through. • We anticipated development six years ago and came up with the Varna plan. • There is no way the Varna plan envisioned 600 beds. • There doesn’t seem to be a likelihood of tweaking this proposal to the goals for the Varna hamlet. • It has to do with the huge influx of a different demographic (student vs. family). • Could have more environmental protections in this project. • There are some difficulties with the plan in place, but we do have a plan, and it doesn’t seem there is legal justification for a moratorium at this time. TB 6-21-18 Page 14 of 14 • We haven’t seen a final proposal for the project. RESOLUTION #103 (2018) – SUPPORT FOR PLANNING BOARD’S REQUEST FOR A MORATORIUM Cl Lavine offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby supports the request for a six-month moratorium against new construction of multi-unit dwellings in the hamlet of Varna so that a study can be done on whether development in the hamlet is proceeding in accordance with the vision of the Varna Community Plan. 2nd Cl Green Roll Call Vote Cl Lavine Yes Cl Green No Cl Servoss Absent Cl Lamb No Supv Leifer No On motion made, seconded and unanimously carried, the board moved into e xecutive session at 10:20 p.m. to discuss the status of current litigation and the employment history of a particular individual. No action was taken the meeting was adjourned at 10:45 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Bambi L. Avery Town Clerk