HomeMy WebLinkAboutAugust 9, 2023 - Town of Enfield Regular Town Board Meeting Minutes
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Town of Enfield Regular Town Board Meetfng
Wednesday, August 9, 2023
6:00 pm
In-Person at the Enfield Town Courthouse and Via the Zoom Meetfng Platiorm
Present: Supervisor Stephanie Redmond; Town Councilpersons; Cassandra Hinkle, Robert Lynch, Jude Lemke; Highway
Superintendent Rollins, Town Clerk Mary Cornell; Code Enforcement Officer Alan Teeter.
Absent: James Ricks
Call to order: Supervisor Redmond called the meetfng to order at 6:00 pm
Privilege of the Floor: Tom Joyce – At the last Town Board Meetfng there was a speaker during privilege of the floor who
spoke on small farm cannabis productfon. It wasn’t the clearest presentatfon and it wasn’t clear why we had the
presentatfon. But if he understood the issue which was small scale farming and big corporatfons taking the lead and
small farms being bypassed, then he hoped the Town Board understood the significance of the issue. Councilperson
Robert Lynch led the assemblage in the Pledge of Allegiance. He also spoke on the decision that the Town Board made in
selectfng the five Fire Commissioners. He cannot speak of what was said in the executfve session that night before the
vote was taken, however, each Town Board member had to choose five individuals to be commissioners. Comments have
been made that the Town Board did not choose wisely, and there were candidates not chosen that night that would have
received his vote, said Councilperson Lynch. If residents think that we are not doing our job then vote us out. In this
electfon year none of our board members are facing oppositfon. There will be a second Fire Commissioner electfon this
year and you may run or encourage others to run. Councilperson Lynch concluded by asking town residents to please
consider running for a Fire Commissioner positfon and to please vote.
Additfons and Changes to the Agenda: Possible amendment of Resolutfon #62-2023, and the additfon of a resolutfon to
appoint a treasurer to the Enfield Fire District. Supervisor Redmond will add both resolutfons to the agenda.
Correspondence: Supervisor Redmond shared that she had received correspondence on bringing electric charging
statfons into the town and possibly adding them to town propertfes as a form of revenue. She will add this topic to the
October Regular Town Board meetfng. A thank you from Woodard Rd Resident Anne Steinle to the Highway Department.
New Business:
Resolution #2023 Appointment of Fire Commissioners
WHEREAS the Town of Enfield established the Enfield Fire District; and
WHEREAS Jim Mathews, Robyn Wishna, Barry “Buddy” Rollins, Marcus Gingerich, and Geoff Hollister have interest in
serving as Fire Commissioners, now therefore be it
RESOLVED Jim Mathews, Robyn Wishna, Barry “Buddy” Rollins, Marcus Gingerich, and Geoff Hollister are appointed to
serve as Fire Commissioners for the Enfield Fire District
Supervisor Redmond moved and Councilperson Lemke seconded. Discussion. Councilperson Lynch would like to
introduce a change in verbiage,
WHEREAS the Town of Enfield established the Enfield Fire District; and
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WHEREAS Jim Mathews, Robyn Wishna, Barry “Buddy” Rollins, Larry Stflwell, Roy Barriere, Ellen Woods, Marcus
Gingerich, and Geoff Hollister have expressed interest in serving as Fire Commissioners, now therefore be it
RESOLVED Jim Mathews, Robyn Wishna, Marcus Gingerich, Larry Stflwell and Geoff Hollister are appointed to serve as
Fire Commissioners for the Enfield Fire District.
Councilperson Lynch moved and Councilperson Lemke seconded and then withdrew her second. Discussion: Supervisor
Redmond liked the additfon to the first WHEREAS.
WHEREAS the Town of Enfield established the Enfield Fire District; and
WHEREAS Jim Mathews, Robyn Wishna, Barry “Buddy” Rollins, Larry Stflwell, Roy Barriere, Ellen Woods, Marcus
Gingerich, and Geoff Hollister have expressed interest in serving as Fire Commissioners, now therefore be it
RESOLVED Jim Mathews, Robyn Wishna, Barry “Buddy” Rollins, Marcus Gingerich, and Geoff Hollister are appointed to
serve as Fire Commissioners for the Enfield Fire District.
Supervisor Redmond moved and Councilperson Hinkle seconded to amend the resolutfon as shown above.
VOTE: Councilperson Hinkle, Aye; Councilperson Lemke, Aye; Councilperson Lynch, Aye; Supervisor Redmond,
Aye; Carried.
Resolution #69-2023 Appointment of Fire Commissioners as amended
WHEREAS the Town of Enfield established the Enfield Fire District; and
WHEREAS Jim Mathews, Robyn Wishna, Barry “Buddy” Rollins, Larry Stflwell, Roy Barriere, Ellen Woods, Marcus
Gingerich, and Geoff Hollister have expressed interest in serving as Fire Commissioners, now therefore be it
RESOLVED Jim Mathews, Robyn Wishna, Barry “Buddy” Rollins, Marcus Gingerich, and Geoff Hollister are appointed to
serve as Fire Commissioners for the Enfield Fire District.
Supervisor Redmond moved and Councilperson Hinkle seconded to amend the resolutfon as shown above.
VOTE: Councilperson Hinkle, Aye; Councilperson Lemke, Aye; Councilperson Lynch, Aye; Supervisor Redmond,
Aye; Carried.
Resolutfon #70-2023 Treasurer of Enfield Fire District.
WHEREAS the Town of Enfield established the Enfield Fire District and under state law holds the duty to appoint a
treasurer for said district to serve through December 31, 2023, and
WHEREAS Cortney Bailey has expressed interest in the positfon of Fire District Treasurer and stands duly qualified for the
positfon, and has agreed to be appointed to the positfon, therefore be it
RESOLVED that the Town Board appoints Cortney Bailey to serve as treasurer of the Enfield Fire District.
Councilperson Lynch moved and Supervisor Redmond seconded. Discussion: Supervisor asked for input from the Fire
Commissioners that were present on this appointment. Brad Pinsky asked Cortney Bailey if she knew QuickBooks? She
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stated that she does know QuickBooks as she works for LAP (a local accountfng firm). As she had currently been doing
the books for the Enfield Fire Company for said company she would be removed from that account.
VOTE: Councilperson Hinkle, Aye; Councilperson Lemke, Abstain; Councilperson Lynch, Aye; Supervisor
Redmond, Aye; Carried.
A Resolution to Revise Resolution # 62 of 2023 Establishing the Enfield Fire District
RESOLUTION #2023-__________
Whereas, on June 14, 2023, the Enfield Town Board adopted Resolution #62-2023, said Resolution entitled,
“Establishing Enfield Fire District;” and
Whereas, upon further review, this Town Board believes it stands in the public interest to revise that resolution’s
directive relating to the long-term status of Fire District Treasurer; therefore, be it
Resolved, that the fifteenth paragraph, the ninth operative clause, of Resolution #62-2023 shall be amended and revised
to state as follows:
“BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the first individual appointed as Treasurer of the Board shall be appointed at the
discretion of the Town Board. The appointed Treasurer of the Board shall serve until December 31, 2023, and the
Treasurer thereafter shall be elected in accordance with provisions of New York State law, providing, however, that the
position of Treasurer shall, in the alternative, be made appointive upon the resolution of the Board of Fire
Commissioners and subsequent approval by the electorate at an annual Fire District election, under the procedures that
state law provides; and….”
Councilperson Lynch moved and Supervisor Redmond seconded. Discussion: Supervisor Redmond shared that it should
come as the discretfon of the Fire District as this appointment holds some liability for the Commissioners. She would feel
uncomfortable as a fire commissioner being liable having no control over who is elected to the positfon. Councilperson
Lynch is supportfve of this as it is done for the reason of independence. There are very much two sides to Fire Protectfon
and there is a level of distrust and having an independent positfon will serve this community well and that is what
motfvated him to support this resolutfon. Councilperson Lynch would like Mr. Pinsky to comment, what happens on
January 1, 2024 should this be an elected positfon, can we, must we hold an electfon in December of this year who
would serve for three years. Mr. Pinsky made the following comments; Of the ~100 fire districts that he represents he
does not know of one who has an elected treasurer. He believes it should be an appointed positfon based on their
merits, all the records are public and can be audited. The District Commissioners would be hamstrung if you have
someone who is not qualified, that ran on popularity. They would be unable to remove the elected person. He would not
run or be a commissioner if he could not have control over the treasurer positfon. Councilperson Lynch people in Enfield
like there democracy and there is enough disconnect about moving to a fire district and it would be a lot easier and solve
some concerns. Jim Mathews asked Brad Pinsky what the legal issues are of an elected treasurer verses an appointed
positfon. Mr. Pinsky - The legal exposure could be public misconduct (you could go to jail.) Good treasurers know how to
steal. He respects the electfon, but it is not an electfon based on skill they are going to run on popularity. He does not
think that it is a fair electfon process. Jim Mathews stated he knows Cortney Bailey and knowing the legal ramificatfons,
he would have a hard tfme serving as a commissioner if the treasurer is an elected positfon. Considering that the
commissioners will be running for electfon in December. He is very much in favor of the public seeing the books. He
would be reluctant to remain on the board if he did not have control of the treasurer. Cortney Bailey, they have a hard
tfme getting anyone to run for a positfon in this town regardless of their skill levels. Anyone can learn to be a treasurer.
She does not believe that Enfield has a lot of optfons of skilled bookkeepers and if it is an elected, then the only persons
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eligible would need to be Enfield Residents. She is afraid with an elected positfon that you may not be able to find
anyone to run. If you cannot find a qualified person to appoint as an Enfield Resident then you would be able to go
outside of the district to find a viable candidate if it is an appointed positfon.
VOTE: Councilperson Hinkle, Nay; Councilperson Lemke, Nay; Councilperson Lynch, Aye; Supervisor Redmond,
Nay; failed.
Swearing in of Fire District appointees: Deputy Clerk Alice Linton swore in the newly appointed Fire District
Commissioners; Geoff Hollister, Robyn Wishna, Jim Mathews, Barry “Buddy” Rollins, Marcus Gingerich, and Fire District
Treasurer Cortney Bailey.
Monthly Reports:
County Legislator- Anne Koreman/Randy Brown: The legislators are looking into optfons on how to dispose of garbage
better and how municipalitfes can assist with this. They are restructuring the fees for solid waste for colleges and
universitfes. The Sheriffs and Probatfon Department accepted the GIBB grant. This grant will help by allowing for more
patrol of areas in coordinatfon with the Ithaca Police Department of high crime areas. Councilperson Lynch thanked Anne
for her show and tell at a recent Legislature meetfng, where she showed a box of recyclables and ways that they can be
repurposed.
Town Supervisor’s Report- Stephanie Redmond. She met with the Water Protectfon Committee and they are getting
ready to finalize their recommendatfons and are hopeful to have something to bring to the Town Board by the
September meetfng. She met with Arlando from Tompkins County regarding transportatfon issues within the County and
issues with the intersectfons/roads of rte. 79 and 327 and the possibility of adding sidewalks. Councilperson Lynch asked
if we had received word yet on the restore NY grant for the Bostwick Rd project, she had not yet heard.
Town Clerk Report- Mary Cornell. The clerk’s office completed the normal dutfes of the Office of Town Clerk.
Highway Superintendent Report- Buddy Rollins. Rothermich rd. and Enfield Center W were paved on Monday. Bostwick
rd. should be paved startfng this coming Monday.
Code Enforcement Report- Alan Teeter. He issued 10 permits last month, which included a couple of new homes, which
brings the total to 17 new homes currently in constructfon this year.
Volunteer Fire Company- Alan Teeter. They had 29 calls last month. Trainings for the month will include: contfnued
training on the new engine and a Rescue training. Councilperson Lynch asked if the pumper has been sold yet. Alan
stated that a Fire Company in PA came to look at it and showed interest, they are waitfng to hear from them.
Planning Board Report- Dan Walker. The planning board has been a little quiet, no new projects coming in. They were
able to work. Bob asked if the planning board has a tfme table of when they will be able to present the subdivision
regulatfons to the Town Board. Dan shared that they have one more sectfon to go through. They want to take
constructfon details out of the regulatfons and put them in a separate highway rd. regulatfon. The goal is to get through
these regulatfons at the September meetfng and bring something to the Town Board at the October meetfng.
Tompkins County Council of Govts- Robert Lynch. The full report is on file with the Town Clerks office.
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Budget Projectfons and Calendar. Blixy Taetzsch.
Supervisor Redmond shared the budget calendar on Zoom. Blixy went over the schedule for the budget planning. The
Board discussed and changed dates as needed. Blixy gave an overview of the 2023 budget projectfons. Councilperson
Lynch had a questfon regarding the 284 agreement, due to the increase in expenses Councilperson Lynch thought that
Superintendent Rollins would be over his budget allocatfon and he could not get a straight answer from him. Blixy shared
that the highway department could be using some of their budgeted funds in conjunctfon with CHIPS funds for the
projects listed in the 284 agreement. Councilperson Lynch thanked Blixy for her thorough work on these projectfons.
Employee Manual: Blixy Taetzsch
Supervisor Redmond shared the employee handbook projectfons with those present and those on Zoom. She had
previously shared this informatfon with the Town Board via email. Blixy shared that everything has been highlighted
where a change is taking place. Councilperson Lynch asked if we were stfll waitfng for costs on some of the policy
changes. Blixy pointed out that anything in the table of contents has not been revised. As you go through startfng on
page 1 after the table of contents anything that is in red are comments that were made by someone else previously. She
has been going through and imputfng the changes that the Town Board had already made and she made sure that it is
currently correct. The record of attendance on page 2 is a new additfon as it has been extended to 20 yrs. or more and
this will assist in determining the number of hours for salaried positfons. Pg 5 employee classificatfons, she made an
additfon which would show what employees are eligible for. On pg. 18, tfme records, show that all employee that are
salaried must complete a record of attendance to determine benefit eligibility. Appendence A needs to be updated as it
does not reflect the boards current policies. Dental Insurance, all fulltfme employees get 100% of dental coverage.
Councilperson Lynch would like to include offering both health insurance and dental insurance to all benefit’s eligible
employees, lets be consistent. Councilperson Lynch thanked Blixy for all of her work on this.
Discussion: Basketball Court
Greg Hutnik. The Town Board did apply for and receive a grant to put in a basketball court at the ECC. He received several
quotes recently and tried to get a couple of additfonal quotes, but was unable to get them for tonight. Buddy suggested
Cayuga paving and Coopers (they have a so-so reputatfon, but do good work on driveways). Buddy asked if the
contractors need to pay prevailing wages? Greg commented that Mancini’s stated they pay more than prevailing wage
regardless of if it is a requirement. Councilperson Lynch, before we invest money into this project, we need to know who
has clear ownership of the ECC building. Councilperson Lemke is not confident that we will have that answer by the end
of this year. A decision has been tabled.
Discussion: Town Park: Cornell Design Connect Program
Greg Hutnik. He applied for the program which would design a park for the Town. The locatfon of the park would be on
Town owned property where the Highway Department is located. He imagines with this property there could be different
equipment and staging areas, there might be contentfon on what would be appropriate of the property, without getting
into too much detail, those are things that can be flushed out during the process. Supervisor Redmond applied for this
program for two years for a Town Hall design which was not awarded and she was excited to hear that this project was
chosen, however, it does take some funding from the municipality. Greg, they do ask for $600 to cover some of the
student ’s expenses, he is asking the Town Board to pay the $600 for this study. Superintendent Rollins, the original plan
was to use a corner of the land for a park with a separate entrance and a gate would be added. It would be a large
expense to put in a roadway as it is pretty wet. Councilperson Lynch has always had a problem with locatfon as previously
was a corn field and not in his opinion an ideal locatfon for a park. He thinks there are better areas in the town to put a
park. Councilperson Hinkle stated that there are several possible areas in the town.
Supervisor Redmond moved and Councilperson Hinkle seconded
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VOTE: Councilperson Hinkle, Aye; Councilperson Lemke, Aye; Councilperson Lynch, Aye; Supervisor Redmond,
Aye; Carried.
Discussion: Highway Generator
Supervisor Redmond – Superintendent Rollins sent a generator quote from Milton Cat and Two generator quotes from
Witmer’s to the Town Board. Supervisor Redmond will draft an RFP and put it on the September meetfng agenda.
Discussion: Estfmate for HVAC/Floor and remodel of Clerk’s office.
Supervisor Redmond - The quote that she circulated to the Town Board was higher than she had expected. She will draft
an RFP for the Town Hall and put it on the September meetfng agenda.
Consent Agenda:
Audit Claims
General Fund Vouchers #174 to 198, dated August 9, 2023 in the amount of $28,540.20
Highway Fund Vouchers #124 to 135, dated August 9, 2023 in the amount of $21,119.07
Supervisor Redmond moved and Councilperson Lemke seconded.
VOTE: Councilperson Hinkle, Aye; Councilperson Lemke, Aye; Councilperson Lynch, Aye; Supervisor Redmond,
Aye; Carried.
Approval of Minutes: July 12, 2023
Supervisor Redmond moved and Councilperson Lynch seconded.
VOTE: Councilperson Hinkle, Abstain; Councilperson Lemke, Aye; Councilperson Lynch, Aye; Supervisor
Redmond, Aye; Carried.
Privilege of the Floor: N/A
Announcements: - Councilperson Lynch asked Buddy if he could give an update from the Fire Commissioners meetfng.
Buddy shared that Jim Mathews is the Chair of the Fire Commissioners, and they have agreed on a date for the statutory
spending limit vote.
Adjournment: Councilperson Hinkle motfoned to adjourn, Adjourned at 9:17 pm
Respectiully Submitted,
Mary Cornell
Mary Cornell
Town Clerk