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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2-9-2005 Regular Meeting TB.pdfAPPROVED 4/13/2005 APPROVED APPROVED Enfield Town Board Regular Meeting February 9, 2005 at 7:00 PM Enfield Community Building -- 182 Enfield Main Road, Ithaca, NY 14850 Meeting called to order by Supervisor, Gary Fisher, at 7:00 PM. Present: Supervisor Gary Fisher Councilperson Peggy Hubbell Councilperson Sandra Small Town Clerk, Alice Laue…minute taker Others present: Deputy Town Clerk…Pat Dougherty Roger Laue…Election Machine Custodian Absent: Councilperson Greg Stevenson Councilperson Jean Owens Pledge of Allegiance: Supervisor Fisher led the assemblage in the Pledge of Allegiance. Privilege of the Floor: No one wished to speak. County Legislator’s Report: There was no representation. Approval of Minutes: The January 12 minutes were approved with corrections. MOVED: Councilperson Hubbell SECONDED: Councilperson Small Vote: Supervisor Fisher…yes. Town Councilperson Hubbell…yes. Town Councilperson Small…yes. No discussion. Motion carried. Communications: * SPCA reports for December 2004 – January 2005. * ECC quarterly report. October – December 2004. * Received 4th quarter 2004 sales tax distribution notification $150,776.28. Up 1.5%. 2 Committee Reports: Code Enforcement. Ron Clark gave Supervisor Fisher a written report. Ed Hetherington did not submit a report. Highway Superintendent. David Miller gave Supervisor Fisher a written report, as follows: Have been plowing and cindering. Made new chains. Have been hauling cinders and crusher run. Worked on trucks and patched some potholes. Personnel. Councilperson Small reported that the Tompkins County Personnel Office approved the 2005 payroll certifications and added seasonal laborers to the report as being exempt. With respect to the Notice to Retiree handout, Supervisor Fisher said he would like to see a disclaimer paragraph added. Councilperson Small also added that she would like to hold a Personnel Committee meeting in the future to discuss several health insurance related issues. Cemetery. Councilperson Hubbell said she still needed two stones moved for repair. Technology. Supervisor Fisher attended a CEO Northern Publishing Digital Towpath website meeting at Medina, NY. There was a presentation of current and new software. Currently there are 65 Digital Towpath subscribers but no formal organization as such. Digital Towpath website has been in effect for 6-7 years. State Archives and Records Administration (SARA) approved a grant for Northern Publishing Digital Towpath to update software which will be new version 3. There is a password to sign on to a version 3 demo and Supervisor Fisher will ask Gene Lovelace to take a look at it. In March, Supervisor Fisher, with a technology committee recommendation, will recommend to the Board that they expend $500 per year for this product. Northern Publishing has the servers and provide software at no cost. There is a minimal cost for PDF software. The $500 amount includes site registration and annual maintenance. Website could be up and running by July 2005, possibly. We would start with the old version 2 software, determine who’s going to do what, build from there and convert to new version software. Surge Protector in Town Hall. The right bank of the Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) used for the Town Clerk’s computer was killed by a power surge. A new one will be ordered for $86.00 Software. Supervisor Fisher priced software for the Town’s accounting purposes and found that it ran from $6,000 - $17,000. For the time being, Quickbooks non profit software will be purchased at much less cost. Donna Smith, Enfield Town Bookkeeper, recommended that the accounting be kept on a separate system. The Supervisor and bookkeeper are presently looking for a computer for payroll purposes which they need to find room for. Tax forms, W2s, etc. can now be printed using current 3 payroll software and a laser printer. Previously we paid $50-$60 for preprinted forms compatible with payroll software and that amount will be saved in the future. Old Business: Tire Collection Day – October 30,2004. The Town, just this week, received from the Tompkins County Soil & Water Conservation District (TCSWD), a check in the amount of $258.50 (1034 tires x $.25/tire) as the Town’s share for the Town’s participation in the Tire Collection Day held on October 30, 2004. It was previously reported that the Town collected 1098 tires but the final tally by TCSWD concluded 1034 tires collected. Cingular Tower. The Town received new site maps from the Cingular siting contractor.. The Planning Board will hold a public hearing at 7 PM on February 23, 2005 at the Community Building regarding the tower. The Planning Board advertises the public hearing. Enfield has no regulations citing towers other than site plan review. Enfield may be the only town in the county without a tower local law. The general consensus is that “a tower needs to benefit Enfield if we’re going to have one here.” Presently, there is no service/reception in Enfield Center. The Towns of Caroline and Dryden hired a consultant to develop a communications’ tower law. Caroline passed a Local Law (#2) in 1998. Copies of the Caroline Law will be provided to the Town Board. Unemployment Insurance Reserve Resolutions Resolution Number #2005-11 Election to Use the Reimbursement Method for Unemployment Insurance WHEREAS analysis of contributions to the State Unemployment Insurance Fund and claims against that fund indicate that it will be beneficial for the Town of Enfield to use the benefit reimbursement method in lieu of contributions under Article 18 of the Labor Law, NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town of Enfield elects to use the benefit reimbursement method. MOVED: Supervisor Fisher SECONDED: Councilperson Small Discussion. Supervisor Fisher talked to State Comptroller. No public hearing is required to establish a Reserve Fund. Supervisor Fisher explained that the monies now paid to the state ” just go away.” We’ve got $6,000 - $7,000 that we’ll never see. Most other towns in Tompkins County do not pay premiums to the state. Fisher thinks it’s prudent to build up a reserve. 4 Vote: Supervisor Fisher…yes. Town Councilperson Hubbell…yes. Town Councilperson Small…yes. Resolution carried. Establishment of Unemployment Insurance Payment Reserve Fund. Resolution #2005-12 Resolution Establishing an Unemployment Insurance Payment Reserve Fund. WHEREAS the Town of Enfield has elected to use the benefit reimbursement method in lieu of contribution to the State Unemployment Insurance Fund, NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that pursuant to section 6-m of the General Municipal Law, there is hereby established an unemployment insurance payment reserve fund to be known as the “Unemployment Insurance Payment Reserve Fund” (hereinafter “Reserve Fund”). The purpose of this Reserve Fund is to accumulate moneys to reimburse the State Unemployment Insurance Fund for payments made to claimants. MOVED: Supervisor Fisher SECONDED: Councilperson Small Discussion: Vote: Supervisor Fisher…yes. Town Councilperson Hubbell…yes. Town Councilperson Small…yes. Resolution carried. Election Machine Custodians: Roger Laue, one of Enfield’s Election Machine Custodians petitioned for a rate increase. [Roger has served as an election machine custodian in Enfield for over 25 years. The other Election Machine Custodian is Roger Hubbell.] Laue spent the good part of 1 ½ hours thoroughly discussing what an election machine custodian does in Tompkins County. Additional topics covered included a Tompkins County election machine custodian rate comparison, a letter from Tompkins County Town Clerks that had appeared in today’s paper, a proposal from the Federal Government for $200 million dollars for new voting machines which is still up in the air, and a very detailed accounting of exactly what an election custodian does. Laue made a proposal for a set amount of increase to be determined by the Board for election machine custodians plus $6.00 per hour for any on-call work that had to be done. Fisher and Laue talked about the $400 the Town paid to a firm out of Jamestown last year for a machine that malfunctioned. Laue said it was probably a case of the 5 machine sitting around, unused, for a long period of time and needing lubrication. Fisher proposed preventive maintenance in the future. Laue also noted that the County has a whole sheet of maintenance guidelines. Laue left and the Board thoroughly discussed an increase. Councilperson Hubbell provided a chart developed from Board of Elections information. [The chart will be kept at the Town Hall with these minutes .] Councilperson Hubbell also researched the amount of money the election machine custodians have received since 1984. They received $75/per election. In 2004 they still received $75/per election. The Board ultimately settled on a payment of $110/per election which would include prep work before an election/primary, providing schooling/training for election inspectors, maintenance the day of use, setting up and taking down machines and preventive maintenance every two years. MOVED: Councilperson Hubbell SECONDED: Councilperson Small Discussion: Vote: Supervisor Fisher…yes. Town Councilperson Hubbell…yes. Town Councilperson Small…yes. Motion carried. New Business: 284 Highway Agreement Supervisor Fisher said that Highway Superintendent David Miller had requested $123,600 for highway general repairs. Fisher called Miller and said that there wasn’t enough money for all the proposed jobs. The general repairs amount was reduced to $97, 230. Improvements are $70,000 for resurfacing Gray Road and $12,000 for drainage work on Buck Hill Road South. One thousand dollars in the bridge appropriation would be transferred to improvements to make up the difference. Councilperson Hubbell motioned that $97,230 be expended from the Town Highway Fund pursuant to the provision of Section 284 of the Highway Laws. MOVED: Councilperson Hubbell SECONDED: Supervisor Fisher Discussion: Councilperson Hubbell asked if something could be done to eliminate the water that runs out on the North end of Gray Road. Rob Harvey said that Mr. Bennett has complained about this several times. Supervisor Fisher said that it was a state highway drainage problem. Vote: Supervisor Fisher…yes. Town Councilperson Hubbell…yes. Town Councilperson Small…yes. Motion carried. 6 Resolution: Appointment of Cemetery Workers The resolution was not acted upon. Several things need to be clarified. Are these people on the books at this time? Do they need to come off the books between seasons? Do they have to file a 428 each year? Does the Town let them go and then rehire them in the appropriate season? Councilperson Small will try to clear up these questions. The same people who mowed last year have agreed to mow in 2005. If approved by the Town Board, they will receive a 2.8% increase. Roger Laue will receive $552. Wayne A. Snyder will receive $1,165. Wayne C. Snyder will receive $847. House Numbers: Supervisor Fisher reported that Bill Eisenhardt, the person who has been distributing the house number, says we have few numbers left but we do have 275 posts. Eisenhardt did a survey of the Town and gave Supervisor Fisher an accounting of how many people might need numbers and asked if the Town wanted to purchase more. (Enfield’s numbers were originally purchased with NYS Assembly Member item funds provided to the Town in 2003.) To date, the numbers have been distributed at no cost to the receiver. (The Mecklenburg Fire Department has done the same thing but has charged $10.) There were no decisions made. Audit Claims: Supervisor Fisher, on behalf of the Town Board of the Town of Enfield, was authorized to pay the following: - General Fund Vouchers #14-#35 dated February 9, 2005 in the amount of $8,723.54 -Highway Fund voucher #2-#11 dated February 9, 2005 in the amount of $8,295.15 -Community Development Grant voucher #2 dated February 9, 2005 in the amount of $3,198.08 - Enfield Volunteer Fire Company voucher SF-2 dated February 9, 2005 in the amount of $75,000 MOVED: Councilperson Hubbell SECONDED: Councilperson Small Discussion: Vote: Supervisor Fisher…yes. Town Councilperson Hubbell…yes. Town Councilperson Small…yes. Motion carried. Supervisor Fisher distributed the monthly Supervisor’s report. 7 Announcements: Workshops: After the Flush Pre-registration [septic system] required February 22, 2005 7:00 – 9:00 PM How Well Is Your Water? Pre-registration [private wells] required. March 22, 2005 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM - Councilperson Small thanked Councilperson Hubbell and Rob Harvey for putting plastic on the windows at the Community Building. - Still waiting for furnace part to come in for community building. - No response from former Councilperson Switzer at this time with respect to his repayment of the $200 advance per diem check he received to attend the 2003 Association for Towns Annual Meeting for which he did not attend. Privilege of the Floor: Rob Harvey declared that people are using the Budd Cemetery driveway for a private driveway at times. Adjournment: At 9:40 PM. MOVED: Councilperson Hubbell SECONDED: Councilperson Small Vote: Supervisor Fisher…yes. Town Councilperson Hubbell…yes. Town Councilperson Small…yes. Motion carried. ************* Minutes respectfully transcribed and submitted by Deputy Town Clerk, N. Pat Dougherty *************