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Home My WebLink AboutTB 2024-09-19TB 9-19-24 Page 1 of 5 TOWN OF DRYDEN TOWN BOARD MEETING September 19, 2024 Zoom Hybrid Present: Supervisor Jason Leifer, Cl Daniel Lamb, Cl Leonardo Vargas- Mendez, Cl Christina Dravis, Cl Spring Buck Elected Officials: Bambi L. Avery, Town Clerk Rick Young, Highway Superintendent Other Town Staff: Ray Burger, Planning Director *Cassie Byrnes, Secretary to the Supervisor Chris O’Connor, Fire Coordinator *Indicates attendance via Zoom Supv Leifer opened the meeting at 6:03 p.m. and board members and audience recited the pledge of allegiance. RESOLUTION #145 (2024) – APPROVE MINUTES Cl Lamb offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby approves the meeting minutes of July 31, August 8, and August 15, 2024. 2nd Cl Buck Roll Call Vote Cl Vargas-Mendez Yes Cl Buck Yes Cl Dravis Yes Cl Lamb Yes Supv Leifer Yes PUBLIC HEARING ACQUISITION OF EASEMENTS FROM VILLAGES OF FREEVILLE AND DRYDEN FOR DRYDEN RAIL TRAIL Supv Leifer opened the public hearing at 6:05 p.m. He explained that the draft agreements have not yet been finalized, so no action will be taken tonight and the public hearing will be continued on October 10, 2024. He shared a copy of the public notice and the draft agreements. The town is seeking these easements so it can get reimbursed under State Parks Grant for work done in those stretches of trail. This is required by the state. The public hearing was left open at 6:10 p.m. HIGHWAY/DPW DEPARTMENT Highway Superintendent Rick Young reported that the stream bank stabilization has been completed on Upper Creek Road. The old guide rails are back up, drainage has been put TB 9-19-24 Page 2 of 5 in and it has been seeded. They put binder down on the road first and then paved it the other day. He expects road striping will be done shortly. Virgil Creek Dam inspection has been done. They spent considerable time running a camera inside. Initial reports indicate things look good. Barricades have been placed on the trail ends near Hall Woods Road where there have been problems with four-wheelers using the trail. They have painted a crosswalk and will put signs up when Dig Safe New York has cleared the location. Supv Leifer relayed that the Finger Lakes Land Trust may ask for help with expanding one of their parking areas for the Roy H Park Preserve. They expect a grant for materials but may need some labor help from the town. PLANNING DEPARTMENT R Burger has provided the department’s monthly update and it is on the website. He noted that the Morris Road solar project will be ready for public hearing on October 17. FIRE COORDINATOR Chris O’Connor stated he has kept the board advised via email and asked if there were any questions. Supv Leifer asked when the town will start talking about its strategic plan. C O’Connor said he has reviewed what the departments have submitted and can start whenever the board likes. He would like to hear from board members before he finalizes it. Cl Lamb suggested getting through budget season and then they could meet as a group to discuss it. C O’Connor will clean up his draft and board members can send him questions. Cl Lamb suggested that having certain data would be helpful, such as trends in volunteerism and response times at the four departments. DRYDEN FIBER Dave Makar has submitted his monthly report (attached) and reviewed the executive summary. With respect to the MIP grant, he reported the town has reached 76 of the 2670 parcels covered by the grant since June 16. Eight Dryden Fiber customers are the first in the state to have their installations covered by MIP grant funds. Cl Lamb asked when the town can expect to get funds from MIP. Those funds will come in four equal payments once milestones have been met. D Makar said they are spending the funds as quickly as possible and will send the first reimbursement request around the first of the year. Dryden Fiber is now able to serve 831 households. There are 89 customers (up 23 from August). There are 27 customers in the installation queue for this month and he estimates more than 100 customers by September 21, 2024. There are 111 customers today and 29 in the queue. They are anticipating 250 by the end of the year. It is expected that all of the Villages of Dryden and Freeville will be completely covered by the end of October. By the end of the year most parcels north of Route 13 will be live. They expect to start building south into Caroline from Mt Pleasant by June 30, 2025, and by the end of 2026 all orange parcels on the map will be covered. They will be increasing to four installs per day and will increase that as demand increases. TB 9-19-24 Page 3 of 5 D Makar reviewed the project summary on page 5, noting that partnering with the Town of Caroline was beneficial to the town in receiving funding under the ConnectALL program. The funds help finance the prioritization of bringing fiber optic internet to all homes in the Town of Dryden that are currently unserved or underserved. Additionally, Caroline adds 1100 homes, making the project more sustainable in the long run. Page 17 of the slide deck contains comments from customers and residents. With respect to marketing, there are new postcards coming, posters for cork boards around town, and there will be an email marketing effort to reach people. COUNTY UPDATE No update DISCUSSION/ACTION ITEMS Volunteer Board Appointments – Cl Lamb said Diane Tessaglia-Hymes and Gwen Beck are both interested in joining the Rail Trail Task Force. RESOLUTION #146 (2024) – APPOINT RAIL TRAIL TASK FORCE MEMBERS Supv Leifer offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby appoints Diane Tessaglia -Hymes and Gwen Beck to the Rail Trail Task Force. 2nd Cl Dravis Roll Call Vote Cl Vargas-Mendez Yes Cl Buck Yes Cl Dravis Yes Cl Lamb Yes Supv Leifer Yes An application has been received from Arthur Sommer for appointment to the Broadband Committee. RESOLUTION #147 (2024) – APPOINT BROADBAND COMMITTEE MEMBER Supv Leifer offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby appoints Arthur Sommer to the Broadband Committee. 2nd Cl Dravis Roll Call Vote Cl Vargas-Mendez Yes Cl Buck Yes Cl Dravis Yes Cl Lamb Yes Supv Leifer Yes Burial Agreement – Tom Quinn has inquired about an agreement with the town for private burial of himself and his wife on the property they own on Card Road. The property was once part of his wife’s family farm. He said everything they have done has been for the benefit of the family and the environment. The property will be passed on to his stepson and TB 9-19-24 Page 4 of 5 his daughter. He and his wife have agreed to a green burial. He has planted close to thirty trees on the land, including five American chestnut trees and he w ants to go amongst the trees. It is away from any community water and it is a way to give back. There was some discussion about following the green burial protocols and T Quinn indicated agreement. He will secure a native stone for a marker. Supv Leifer said the agreement used in the past can be amended by adding a provision to follow green burial council recommendations. The board can authorize the Supervisor to sign the agreement once Mr Quinn finds it acceptable and he would not have to c ome to the board again. The agreement will be recorded in the Tompkins County Clerks office and indexed against the real property. RESOLUTION #148 (2024) – APPROVE BURIAL AGREEMENT – QUINN Supv Leifer offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board approves a burial agreement with Thomas and Patricia Quinn in the form previously used by the town with the addition of a paragraph agreeing to follow green burial protocol, and the Supervisor is authorized to execute the sa me. 2nd Cl Buck Roll Call Vote Cl Vargas-Mendez Yes Cl Buck Yes Cl Dravis Yes Cl Lamb Yes Supv Leifer Yes Budget Meetings – The board discussed when it could meet regarding the 2025 budget and agreed on the following schedule: October 10 after the board meeting October 15 at 4 p.m. October 17 after the board meeting October 25 at 2 p.m. ADVISORY BOARD UPDATES Affordable & Workforce Housing – Cl Vargas-Mendez said he is happy for the board’s support of the Special Use Permit in Varna. There is a pilot weatherization program for residents of Pleasant View Mobile Home Park. They will provide an informational event for the residents of the park. The committee has not met since DRYC came to the town board asking that the RFP be revised due to wetland restrictions, leaving about seven usable acres with road access. Cl Lamb would like to give feedback to DRYC prior to the meeting next week. He asked the board to consider what could be done now with the seven acres. He said it doesn’t seem there is room now for housing and would like to leave it for recreation. The consensus of the board is to remove the housing component from the RFP. Conservation Board – Did not meet. Climate Smart Communities Task Force – The Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Plan (CCARP) is still being revised and isn’t available for review yet. TB 9-19-24 Page 5 of 5 In addition to the County’s EV Charger Installation program, they are getting information about a state program that is looking to install EV chargers in close proximity to the Route 13 corridor. They didn’t hear back from the County’s program regarding selected sites so are following up with them to see if any will be located within the Town. Planning Board – The board worked on the Freese Road project and did site plan approval. They determined that bailout kits would not be needed based on the access provisions for standpipes. Time was spent interpreting the charge regarding crypto mining and they are willing to do their due diligence. With respect to the Freese Road bridge, Cl Lamb said it looks like they have the 4F approval from Federal Highway this week. It seems that all the obstacles are out of the way in terms of review and he is trying to confirm when we can put this out to bid. Rail Trail Task Force – The pedestrian bridge contract is expected to be awarded in the Fall with construction to begin in 2025. The next phase will be the section between Pinckney Road and 366. It includes a washed-out area that we may seek a grant to repair. Ag Advisory Committee – Did not meet. Broadband Committee – Progress was covered in Dave Makar’s report. Recreation & Youth Commission – Will meet next week and there will be a discussion of the RFP. PUBLIC COMMENT None. Regarding the Liberty Housing PILOT for the Freeville Apartments, Supv Leifer said he expects similar terms as the previous agreement. When the document is final, it will be on the agenda. There was no further business, and the meeting was adjourned at 7:26 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Bambi L. Avery Town Clerk