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HomeMy WebLinkAbout5-29-19-Special-Meeting-Minutes Town of Enfield Special Town Board Meeting Enfield Community Building Wednesday, May 29, 2019 6:00 p.m. Present: Town Supervisor Beth McGee, Town Councilperson Virginia Bryant (arrived at 6:30), Town Councilperson Mimi Mehaffey, Town Councilperson Becky Sims, Town Clerk Alice Linton. Absent: Town Councilperson Mike Carpenter Supervisor McGee called the meeting to order at 6:10 p.m. Town Clerk Linton lead the assemblage in the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. Additions and Removals from the Agenda: Supervisor McGee asked if anyone had changes to the agenda. She asked to add discussion of the RFP for cemetery maintenance. Councilperson Sims asked to have a discussion of building use space for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Privilege of the Floor: No one wished to speak. Consent Agenda: Supervisor McGee moved, with a second by Councilperson Sims to approve the Consent Agenda. Resolution #2019-35 Standard Work Day Resolution for Employees Be It Resolved, that the Town of Enfield, Location Code 30576, hereby establishes the following standard work days for its employees and will report days worked to the New York State and Local Employees’ Retirement System based on the time keeping system or the record of activities maintained and submitted by these members to the clerk of this body: Title Standard Work Day (Hrs/day) Town Clerk 6 Highway Superintendent 8 Town Councilperson 6 Justice Clerk 6 Code Enforcement Officer 6 Bookkeeper 6 Resolution #2019-36 Standard Work Day and Reporting Resolution for Elected and Appointed Officials BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town of Enfield, Location Code 30576, hereby establishes the following standard work days for these titles and will report the officials to the New York State and Local Retirement System based on their record of activities: Title Standard Work Day Name Current Term Record of Activities Town Clerk 6 Alice Linton 1/1/18 - 12/31/19 18.8 Highway Superintendent 8 Barry Rollins 1/1/18 - 12/31/19 20 Town Councilperson 6 Rebecca Sims 1/1/17 - 12/31/19 5.83/quarter Justice Clerk 6 Tiffany Poole 1/1/19 - 12/31/19 8.89 Code Enforcement Officer 6 Alan Teeter 1/1/19 - 12/31/19 19.23 Bookkeeper 6 Deborah Kelley 1/1/19 - 12/31/19 5.59 Enfield Town Board Special Meeting, May 29, 2019 2 Vote on Consent Agenda: Councilperson Mehaffey aye, Councilperson Sims aye, Supervisor McGee aye. Councilperson Bryant excused; Councilperson Carpenter absent. Carried. New Business: Building Use for WIC: Councilperson Sims suggested the Community Building could be used more. There are currently WIC clinics held at the health department and some other areas. She would like them to have the opportunity to come to Enfield, which would be closer to where area residents live. WIC has indicated to Councilperson Sims that they would be interested in a clinic at the Community Building if the Town Board is supportive. A survey could be distributed to WIC participants to see if there was interest in coming to Enfield. Councilperson Mehaffey thought this use of the building was a good idea. Supervisor McGee asked what the clinic would need for space. Councilperson Sims will find out more information. Old Business: Solar Installation RFP: Supervisor McGee reported Terry Carroll of Cornell Cooperative Extension has a sample of an RFP that would be good for the Town Board to review. They could read that version, and compare it to the RFP Councilperson Carpenter provided previously. A discussion on this will be held at the June meeting. Solar Law: Councilperson Mehaffey reported the Town Board had previously gone over the draft law line by line. After changes were made the draft law was sent to Town Attorney, Guy Krogh, for review and comments. He recommends having this as an addendum to the Site Plan Review Law, rather than a separate law. At this time, 6:30 p.m., Councilperson Bryant arrived. The Town Board felt most steps of review should be done by the Planning Board, but the final review would be with the Town Board. The Planning Board would be responsible for doing a SEQRA for a project. Discussion followed on parts of the draft law which included: A need to determine how a qualified installer is determined If setback should be by scale only – explore what other municipalities use Should any chemical herbicides be allowed Should a Decommissioning Plan be in place prior to a permit being issued Distance of residents from project that would need to be notified of installation Importance of landowner to know they are ultimately responsible for fees associated with the facility to the Town, including decommissioning, on leased land if solar facility owner neglects to do so. The next step in the process will be to provide a revised copy of the draft law to Town Board members. At the regular June meeting a date will be set for a special meeting to further discuss the draft law. Five days before the special meeting a clean copy of the draft law needs to be submitted to the Town Clerk so it can be posted on the Town of Enfield website. At the June meeting the Town Board could decide to send the draft to Tompkins County for review and set a public hearing for the regular July Town Board meeting. Supervisor McGee suggested having the permit applicant be responsible for the legal ad fee. Also, an application fee will need to be set and the SEQRA will need to be completed. Enfield Town Board Special Meeting, May 29, 2019 3 Cemetery RFP: Supervisor McGee stated the cemeteries were cleaned up and grass mowed on May 18, but by May 25 the grass height was high enough that a couple of complaints were received. Two bids were received for mowing for the rest of the year. Councilperson Sims stated she was concerned about the lack of clarity on what was required and the complaints received. Councilperson Mehaffey was not comfortable making a decision on which bid to accept until references could be checked. It was agreed that Councilperson Bryant and Councilperson Mehaffey would call references for the two bids submitted. Wind Law: Councilperson Mehaffey explained the committee working on this thought they were close to completing the document, but at their last meeting they made many edits and now feel they need to continue working on the draft law. Several lawyers were interviewed to possibly review the law. One has extensive experience being involved in wind farms west of here and on Lake Ontario. He is familiar with towns without zoning, is familiar with Article 10, and has good insight into how to protect towns. He would be willing to do a desk review which would take 4-6 hours at an hourly rate of $260. He would then provide a memo outlining his concerns. Supervisor McGee asked to hold off on a decision until the full Town Board was able to discuss this. Councilperson Mehaffey suggested a timeline where the law could be completed by December 31. She suggested having a lawyer look at the draft law as soon as the Town Board has reviewed it. Councilperson Sims stated she had not read through the entire 58 pages. She respected and acknowledged all the work that went into the draft. However, the draft law strikes a specific tone that she is not comfortable with. She questioned where the information was coming from and what was the basis in Section 2, Legislative Findings. Jude Lemke, of the committee working on the law, responded the intent was to put together a report as background for findings without being part of the document itself. It could be adopted as support without being part of the law. Supervisor McGee suggested taking out overly negative words and changing “will” to “may” where possible. She feels the requirements result in an all-out ban on wind development, which she cannot accept. The goal has always been to provide for “safe and compatible” renewable energy development. Councilperson Sims suggested under Section 2 B there should be acknowledgement of the value of renewable energy. The way the law is currently worded it may be designed to prevent development. Supervisor McGee also felt the wording of the law would likely prevent any large scale wind facility in Enfield. There followed a discussion of distances between wind turbines and property lines. Jude Lemke stated there is a lot of support for a one-mile distance, and there appears to be a trend to increasing distances. Councilperson Mehaffey feels this would relate to what is happening in the world. Supervisor McGee feels 5,500 feet is too great a distance. She suggested adding setbacks of four times the height of any tower in a commercial wind facility, so that it be relative to the size of the tower and have safe distance from property lines. It was agreed that there should be protection against sound, which is hard to measure; ice throw; and falling down/fire. Supervisor McGee suggested starting on page 4 at a special meeting to be set at the June regular Town Board meeting. Adjournment: Supervisor McGee moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:52 p.m., with a second by Councilperson Sims. Respectfully submitted, Alice M. Linton, RMC Enfield Town Clerk