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Home My WebLink About2015 September 9 Town Board Regular Meeting Minutes.pdf Town of Enfield Regular Town Board Meeting Minutes Enfield Community Building Wednesday, September 9, 2015 6:30 p.m. Present: Deputy Supervisor Vera Howe-Strait, Town Councilperson Mike Carpenter, Town Councilperson Beth McGee, Town Highway Superintendent Buddy Rollins, Town Clerk Alice Linton. Excused: Town Supervisor Ann Rider, Town Councilperson Virginia Bryant. Deputy Supervisor Howe-Strait opened the regular meeting at 6:30 p.m. by leading the assemblage in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. Privilege of the Floor: No one wished to speak. Approval of Minutes: Councilperson Carpenter moved, with a second by Deputy Supervisor Howe-Strait to approve the minutes of the August 12, 2015 public hearing and regular town board meeting. Vote: Councilperson Carpenter aye, Councilperson McGee aye, Deputy Supervisor Howe- Strait aye. Supervisor Rider and Councilperson Bryant excused. Carried Correspondence: None Budget Amendments: Deputy Supervisor Howe-Strait moved, with a second by Councilperson Carpenter to approve Budget Amendment #2015-25. Budget Amendment #2015-25 WHEREAS, expenses have exceeded the budget in the General Fund line item A1910.4 titled “ Unallocated Insurance", now therefore be it RESOLVED, that the General Fund Account, line item A1990.4 titled "Contingent Account", be decreased by $123.76 and line item A1910.4 be increased by $123.76. Discussion: Deputy Supervisor Howe-Strait explained this was to cover an invoice from Sprague Insurance. Vote: Councilperson Carpenter aye, Councilperson McGee aye, Deputy Supervisor Howe- Strait aye. Supervisor Rider and Councilperson Bryant excused. Carried Deputy Supervisor Howe-Strait moved, with a second by Councilperson Carpenter to approve Budget Amendment #2015-26. Budget Amendment #2015-26 WHEREAS, expenses have exceeded the budget in the Highway Fund line item DA5130.4 titled “ Highway Machinery Contractual" now therefore be it RESOLVED, that the Highway Fund Account, line item DA5110.4 titled "Highway General Enfield Town Board Regular Meeting, September 9, 2015 2 Repairs", be decreased by $30,000.00 and line item DA5130.4 be increased by $30.000.00. Discussion: Highway Superintendent Rollins explained about $15,000.00 was to pay for the excavator motor and about $15,000.00 was for other repairs for the remainder of the year. About $6,000.00 was saved by doing the excavator repairs in-house, plus another $1,000.00 was saved on transportation to a shop to make the repairs. Vote: Councilperson Carpenter aye, Councilperson McGee aye, Deputy Supervisor Howe- Strait aye. Supervisor Rider and Councilperson Bryant excused. Carried Audit Claims: Councilperson Carpenter moved, with a second by Councilperson McGee to authorize the supervisor to pay General Fund vouchers #263 to #291 dated September 9, 2015 in the amount of $13,928.69 and Highway Fund vouchers #160 to #180 dated September 9, 2015 in the amount of $87,880.74. Vote: Councilperson Carpenter aye, Councilperson McGee aye, Deputy Supervisor Howe- Strait aye. Supervisor Rider and Councilperson Bryant excused. Carried County Legislator's Report: None Highway Superintendent's Report: Highway Superintendent Rollins distributed copies of the Inventory of Highway Machinery, Tools and Equipment dated September 9, 2015. Councilperson McGee asked if a new excavator was recommended to be purchased. Superintendent Rollins stated he was including the possibility of a new excavator, and if he could get a good price he would trade the old one in. He has considered purchasing a track excavator and then would consider keeping the old one. He is also considering the purchase of a new roller. The one they have now is unsafe - it pops out of gear and the brakes aren't good. A double drum roller would be the best choice now. He would like to see a program started to begin saving for truck replacement. Councilperson Carpenter suggested an equipment purchase budget for each year should be started. Superintendent Rollins was able to purchase 3 flail mowers and frame for the Case 4 wheel drive tractor for $5,600 from the airport auction. Three bad cross pipes were found on Hines Road that need to be replaced. Fish Road also has pipes that need replacing. The Tompkins County Soil and Water tentatively think they will have $11,000 to finish work on the end of Hubbell Drive where it washed out. A retaining wall will be built. Code Enforcement Report: Code Enforcement Officer Alan Teeter reported in August there were 10 permits issued or renewed, bringing the year to date total to 51. There were 2 solar permits issued, bringing the year to date total to 18. He issued 1 certificate of occupancy, completed 5 inspections and 15 progress checks, received 1 valid complaint, and a prior complaint was resolved. There were 2 address numbers issued for substations at the Black Oak Wind Farm site. There was a fire at 1795 Mecklenburg Road last week. He has posted the property as condemned as it is not a safe structure. Supervisor's Report: Supervisor Rider submitted her report. She met with Councilperson Howe- Strait and Bill Kappell from USGS to decide on a well driller and decide on siteing of research wells; directed the town attorney to prepare documents for closing on the Old Gravel Pit property Enfield Town Board Regular Meeting, September 9, 2015 3 and drafting a Road Use Agreement; contacted NYSEG regarding removing light poles across from town hall; applied for a demolition permit to raze the building across from the town hall. Committee Reports: Planning Board: Chair Dan Walker reported the Planning Board received a subdivision application for a 3 lot subdivision. This is for the Black Oak Wind Farm at the corner of Black Oak Road and Cayutaville Roads. A public hearing is scheduled for the October Planning Board meeting. This is a minor subdivision. Dan will be attending a flood plain management workshop that the county is putting on. This information should help to identify the flood plains in Enfield. Enfield Volunteer Fire Company: Chief Roger Lauper reported there were 16 total calls in August as follows: 12 EMS, 1 motor vehicle accident with injuries, 1 service call, 1 trash fire, and 1 mobile home fire. Trainings for September will include ladder training, SCBA training and extrication. There will be a blood drive on September 15 at the fire station. Comprehensive Plan Writing Committee: Councilperson McGee reported they plan to meet this month and discuss where they are at and how to go forward. Four sections are pretty well done. There is one they'd like to add, one they are revamping and then the agriculture section. The committee plans to present the draft Comprehensive Plan to the town board at the February town board meeting. Tompkins County Council of Governments: This month's meeting was cancelled. Recreational Partnership: Carolyn Tschanz reported they met in July and set their budget with an increase of 3.3%, which meant no cuts to programs that Enfield youth participate in and an increase to the town of about $500 in 2016. In 2017 the contract will need to be renewed. Carolyn submitted information showing that when students feel valued and have a way to spend their leisure time, they are more resilient when bad things happen. Old Business: New Highway Building Assessment: Deputy Supervisor Howe-Strait reported Supervisor Rider will meet with engineers to get information from them before proceeding. This will be a group meeting with several potential engineers at the highway facility. Solar Enfield - Update on Solar Farm Local Law: Councilperson McGee received some comments from board members. Since most of the concerns were about being restrictive, she has now asked Renovus for their comments. Renovus will meet with Supervisor Rider. Councilperson McGee would like to caution the town board not to let the industry write the regulations. She wants to be sure there is a clear permit system and that decommissioning should be the responsibility of the developers. The files of information gathered so far have been given to Supervisor Rider. Aquifer Study Update: Deputy Supervisor Howe-Strait stated Frey Drilling was chosen to drill the test wells. They will probably drill at 5 or 6 properties, but there is only $24,000 available. When those funds run out, the decision will be made of whether enough wells have been drilled. If not, the town will decide if they want to put in more money. Drilling can be started as early as the end of September or mid-October. It will take from 1-2 days to do each well. They want to go directly from one well to the next to complete the job. A map has been prepared showing the properties that USGS would like to target. There is one on Hayts Road, one at the school or new community Enfield Town Board Regular Meeting, September 9, 2015 4 building proposed property, one along the creek that runs through the hamlet, one is Enfield Center Road before the creek, one is on Enfield Main Road and the last would be the new highway facility property. The thought is if another building is built on the town property, it would be easy to pipe into the test well. Then the town would get the benefit of the drilling. Nancy Spero, of the aquifer fundraising group, stated she feels strongly that one of the test wells should be on town property. Also, if there was some water crisis in the town it would be nice to have a municipal well to draw from. Deputy Supervisor Howe-Strait will talk to USGS to see if they can drill from south to north so the highway property would be the first well drilled and not the last. Town Property Update: Deputy Supervisor Howe-Strait reported the cars have been removed from the town gravel bank property on August 25. Supervisor Rider will provide town attorney Guy Krogh with a copy of the survey map and ask him to prepare closing papers for a closing by the end of September. Surplus Items: Deputy Supervisor Howe-Strait moved, with a second by Councilperson Carpenter to not renew the contract for surplus items with the Ithaca Antique Center and to have the items available for sale at the Enfield Harvest Festival on October 10. Discussion: The current contract expires on September 30. Items that have not sold include the rusted milk can, wooden box, wooden drive with post, wooden wagon wheel, and hand oil pump. Highway Superintendent Rollins suggested it might be a good idea to get sealed bids for the items. Deputy Supervisor Howe-Strait will check on proper procedures before these items are sold. Vote: Councilperson Carpenter aye, Councilperson McGee aye, Deputy Supervisor Howe- Strait aye. Supervisor Rider and Councilperson Bryant excused. Carried New Business: Bond Payment: Deputy Supervisor Howe-Strait moved, with a second by Councilperson Carpenter to approve Resolution #2015-41. Resolution #2015-41 Bond Payment WHEREAS, the Town of Enfield borrowed funds to construct a highway facility and now needs to pay back the bond, now therefore BE IT RESOLVED, the bookkeeper is authorized, prior to October 15, 2015, to wire $19,284.38 interest to the bank holding the bonds. Vote: Councilperson Carpenter aye, Councilperson McGee aye, Deputy Supervisor Howe- Strait aye. Supervisor Rider and Councilperson Bryant excused. Carried Letter of Resignation: Councilperson McGee read her letter of resignation from her position as Enfield Town Councilperson effective September 30, 2015 as she is moving out of state and will no longer be able to perform the duties of this position after that date. She offered to continue working on the Enfield Town Board Regular Meeting, September 9, 2015 5 Enfield Comprehensive Plan and to continue with assistance of the TownOfEnfield.org website. She stated she has enjoyed being on the town board and thanked the town for the opportunity to serve. The town board will need to appoint a replacement for 2016. Adjournment: Deputy Supervisor Howe-Strait moved, with a second by Councilperson Carpenter to adjourn at 7:40 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Alice Linton, Enfield Town Clerk