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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFebruary 14, 2024 Town of Enfield Regular Town Board Meeting 1 Town of Enfield Regular Town Board Meetfng February 14, 2024 6:30 PM In Person at the Town Courthouse and Virtually via the Zoom Meetfng Platiorm. Present: Town Supervisor Stephanie Redmond, Town Councilperson Cassandra Hinkle, Melissa Millspaugh, and Robert Lynch; Code Officer Alan Teeter; Highway Superintendent Rollins; Town Clerk Mary Cornell Virtual Attendance: Town Councilperson Jude Lemke. Call to order: Supervisor Redmond called the meetfng to order at 6:30 PM Privilege of the Floor: Councilperson Lynch led the assemblage in the Pledge of Allegiance. Councilperson Lynch gave an overview of the proposed changes to the Fire District apparatus’ bonding. Councilperson Lynch – last month this Town Board considered the adoptfon of a resolutfon to potentfally forgive the Town’s Portfon of the Enfield Community Councils past due taxes. Legislature Randy Brown is working with the ICSD to waive their portfon of the past due taxes. Enfield Community Council President Cortney Bailey revealed at the last ECC meetfng that on Dec 21, 2023 the ECC paid the full past due taxes to Tompkins County Finance. Cortney informed the board they did this, so that they would not need to pay the additfonal fees charged with the foreclosure proceedings. Councilperson Lynch plans to meet with the Ithaca City School District to discuss the possibility of their ability to waive their portfon of past due taxes. Additfons and Changes to the Agenda: N/A Correspondence: N/A Monthly Reports: County Legislature – Randy Brown. The Tompkins County Sheriffs department is using tracking software to assess the number of instances when deputfes use excess force. On February 18th the Cornell Cooperatfve Extension will host an event for local farmers. Homelessness in Ithaca is an issue that they are looking to address. Any assistance that Councilperson Lynch can contribute with the ICSD to waive ECC’s past due taxes would be greatly appreciated. Town Supervisor – Stephanie Redmond. She attended the Code Enforcement Community Forum. She attended two grant webinars. She met with the sustainability committee and they have named Cassandra Hinkle their chair. Councilperson Hinkle and she met with one other member of the sustainability committee to go through files to collect past Energy bills. She facilitated a Special board meetfng, attended a community arts meetfng, and picked up more covid tests for the Town and Food Pantry. Planning Board – Dan Walker. They had one sketch plan for a subdivision on Van Dorns Rd. It is basically a 23-acre parcel with only 35’ of road frontage. The property owner would like a 4-lot subdivision, with three of the parcel’s being 1 acre lots. There are a couple of issues that need to be addressed. There is not 15’ of road frontage for each parcel. The property owner is willing to build a road to town specificatfons/standards and to get any permits that the Town Board would require to create an open development area. On this partfcular property he already has a good driveway that could easily be widened. There are concerns that 4 houses would be within ~4.5 acres, which would have septfc systems and wells in a condensed area. All of these lots would be within a 600’ area. There could be concerns about water supply questfons, so the planning board may consider this as a major subdivision and require some predrilling of wells and test spots. The questfon posed to the Town Board was if they would be comfortable with the requirements the Planning Board would pose and if they are willing to consider proceeding with an open development area. Supervisor Redmond asked if there is any data available with septfc systems and possible water contaminatfon, Dan shared that this subdivision would meet the health departments requirements. Councilperson Lynch has no issue with the Special district 2 and he agrees that is should be treated as a major subdivision process. If this was to turn into a town road, it should be built to town specs and maintained by the Town. Councilperson Lemke the homeowners would need to enter into an agreement and maintain the road themselves. Practfcally speaking as it can not be made a town road, they will need to contractually agree with each other on how it is to be maintained. Councilperson Lynch said if this is the way it needs to be and it is considered a major not minor subdivision something needs to be agreed upon before the Planning Board signs off on it. Councilperson Lynch asked Dan about the wetland regulatfons changes that he had mentfoned at the last Planning Board Meetfng. Dan gave an overview of the new proposed wetland regulatfons This may impact how they review projects within the planning board and they will do due diligence to look at propertfes and they may require more official delineatfons, which they already do on larger projects. The DEC will be doing more site visits going forward and there will be more extensive mapping on the DEC website. Becky Sims commented on the proposed open development subdivision - there is a somewhat similar project that happened in Danby with a 4-lot subdivision it was approved and it has worked. The planning board may want to look at that project for directfon. Alan will be working on a 2-lot subdivision that is in regards to a 1.5-acre lot, which appears to be a simply subdivision as some of the lot is actually a part of a neighbor ’s property. Tompkins County Council of Govts – Robert Lynch. The full report is on file with the Town Clerks office. Code Enforcement Report – Alan Teeter. Last month he issued three permits, he has been busy with house inspectfons. He did a fire safety inspectfon. He has signed up for his annual training. He was contacted about a concern for a house on the corner of Aiken Rd and Tucker Rd and he reached out to Guy Krough about whether or not the project can proceed. He spoke with Dan about a parcel on Iradell and Tucker Rd, swamp land is being sold and the house and some acreage will be subdivided. Councilperson Lynch shared that he was aware that the landowner had notffied the town of the plans to subdivide and sell the swamp sectfon to the land trust and it is now protected. Highway Superintendent – Buddy Rollins. They received their generator earlier than expected. Shisler is working on wiring so that the generator can be plugged into the building. They have been doing brush work, tree work, and have graveled some dirt roads, which was possible due to the mild weather we have been experiencing. Superintendent Rollins asked if the Town Board would be offering Town Clean up this year. The Board agreed with the dates that Buddy suggested. May 16-18th. There was a brief discussion on Road Clean-up for May 4th Stephanie will follow-up with those involved from last year to see if this date will work for them this year. The Cemetery Clean-up would be a week later on May 11th. Buddy asked the board for approval to use ~$15,000 of his equipment reserve fund to purchase a new pickup truck this year. Supervisor Redmond asked if he would stfll be within his budget in doing so, he said that using the reserve would help with this. Leaving him with $60,000 out of his equipment line and the amount from reserves would give him enough funds to complete the purchase. They would receive funds from the trade of the old truck which would reduce the purchase price of the new truck by ~$30,000. Councilperson Lynch said he thought that we had taken care of this in the budget last year, in which he expressed that he did not agree in the purchase. Robert would like to know where the money is that was allocated in this year’s budget for this purchase as a higher amount was kept in the equipment line to purchase the pickup truck. Buddy said he has to pay for the new truck before he sells the old truck. Councilperson Lynch said we are a town who couldn’t afford an audit this year. Supervisor Redmond, the smaller trucks save the town money, they are less of a liability, and they cost less to run, etc. Superintendent Rollins said he has tried to keep up with a regular replacement plan, and this is a discussion that we have already had. Councilperson Lynch cannot support using monies from the equipment reserve as requested. Supervisor Redmond moved and Councilperson Hinkle seconded. No further discussion. Vote: Councilperson Hinkle, Aye; Councilperson Lemke, Aye; Councilperson Lynch, Nay; Councilperson Millspaugh, Aye; Supervisor Redmond, Aye; Carried. 3 Consent Agenda: Audit Claims: General fund vouchers #13-47, dated February 14, 2024 in the amount of $538, 683.63. Highway Fund vouchers #5-29, dated February 14, 2024 in the amount of $104,014.88. Approval of January 10, 2024 and January 17, 2024 Meetfng Minutes. Vote: Councilperson Hinkle, Aye; Councilperson Millspaugh, Aye; Councilperson Lemke, Aye; Councilperson Lynch, Aye; Supervisor Redmond, Aye; Carried. Business: Discussion: Presentatfon from Becky Sims, RCAP Solutfons regarding a water feasibility study. They provide technical assistance to municipalitfes. She is here to speak briefly on public water supply and how it would/could work here in the Town of Enfield. She has guides that she will drop off at the Town Clerks Office which gives an overview of the process. The guides cover planning design and constructfon. Councilperson Lynch posed a questfon, if the Town finds a need for a water study, then they could complete a survey and the town could employ an engineer to complete a study. Becky said that they could assist with the development of the survey and evaluatfng the results. They have a small pocket of money that could assist in providing the survey results. However, the Town would need to fund the creatfng and running of the district, Councilperson Lynch mentfoned that residents can form a water district and the town would need to listen to them. Becky shared that Towns and Residents can form water districts, but steps need to be taken before a water district is formed. Discussion: NFIP (Natfonal Flood Insurance Plan) Presentatfon, Thomas Song & Brianna Wirley from FEMA- Any property that is federally backed has to be protected with flood insurance. Homeowners insurance will not cover flood damage. There are federal grants that are available, however, the community must be a member of NFIP and maintain minimum requirements. Supervisor Redmond shared with the new Enfield maps that we have ~20 structures within the 100-year flood plain areas and that if they have a federally-backed mortgage, they will be required to carry flood insurance. Thomas said that they request the municipalitfes assist in getting this informatfon out, however, there is no funding available to assist in getting these notfficatfons out. If those in the flood plains have a mortgage the lender will eventually get ahold of the owner. Flood insurance only covers the structure. Councilperson Lynch asked is this too restrictfve or is it not restrictfve enough? There was a flood back in 2014-2015 that caused a culvert carrying a stream under Bostwick Road to fail and water poured across a lawn and the house experienced extensive damage. Once the appeal tfme has closed then FEMA needs tfme to address any appeals/concerns. There will also be the need for the Town of Enfield to develop regulatfons to affect development in the Flood Plain. Councilperson Lynch would like this brought to the attentfon of the Planning Board. Discussion: AED Training. Supervisor Redmond has received the AED’s and Ellen Woods is going to walk us through the process of using one. Ellen thanked the Town Board for purchasing the AEDs for placement in the Court building and Highway Department. AED’s provide immediate lifesaving measures in a cardiac arrest. Ellen will contact the Town Clerk to get something on the website. Ellen will give a demonstratfon at the next town board meetfng on the use of AED’s. Discussion: Deconstructfon Permits: Supervisor Redmond shared that Enfield is not necessarily large enough or in need of having deconstructfon permits at this tfme, nor do we have the resources to handle recycled material. Councilperson Lynch thanked the Supervisor for sending him all if this informatfon as it required him to do some research, he thinks this is more of an Ithaca problem with new high rises being built in college town. He thinks raising the rate for demo permits may not be the answer. We have dilapidated buildings that need to come down, that may fall down. There was a town resident that had come to the Trash talks that has 100’s of tfres that they need to dispose of and Tompkins County 4 charges for and will only take ~4 tfres at a tfme. Supervisor Redmond asked Councilperson Hinkle to add this as an agenda topic for the sustainability committee. Randy Brown - The County is working with a Cornell professor, who will come and access the buildings. They will come in and digitfze the building to see what is salvageable. The County is going to determine what is deconstructfon and how it should it be identffied. The goal is to minimize the impact on sustainability. Cornell is not doing this for free, but they are looking for some grants that could assist with the costs of deconstructfon as it is more expensive to deconstruct than to demolish. Discussion: Formatfon of Comprehensive Plan Committee. Supervisor Redmond has been going through past minutes and she had collected a list of those who had partfcipated in the past and she would like to make a post on the Town Website seeking those interested in assistfng with evaluatfng and updatfng the Towns Comprehensive Plan. Councilperson Lynch would like this to first go before the Planning Board to determine if we need to form this committee at this tfme. Councilperson Lynch moved and Supervisor Redmond seconded to ask the Planning Board to review whether there is a current need for a comprehensive plan update needed at this tfme. Vote: Councilperson Hinkle, Aye; Councilperson Lemke, Aye; Councilperson Lynch, Aye; Councilperson Millspaugh, Aye; Supervisor Redmond, Aye; Carried. RESOLUTION #2024-__________ A Resolutfon in support of Legislatfon to clarify procedures affectfng certain Fire District Electfons Whereas, on June 14, 2023, the Enfield Town Board dissolved the Enfield Fire Protectfon District and established the Enfield Fire District to oversee and administer fire protectfon services within the Town of Enfield; and Whereas, under Sectfon 174(2) of New York State Town Law, the Enfield Fire District’s establishment required its first electfon of fire district officers to take place in December of 2023, an electfon at which voters selected all five (5) members of the Board of Fire Commissioners, elected officers to replace the five interim commissioners earlier appointed by this Town Board; and Whereas, Sectfon 174(2) of New York State Town Law contains vague and ambiguous language that fails to specify whether voters in a first Commissioners electfon are entftled to cast only one (1) vote or up to five (5) votes for Commissioners to populate the Board; and Whereas, prior to that December 2023 electfon in Enfield, the Fire District’s former legal counsel interpreted New York State Town Law to permit only one (1) vote to be cast by each eligible voter in that electfon to fill multfple Board of Fire Commissioners positfons, an opinion subsequently endorsed by the appointed Board and employed to conduct the December 2023 first commissioners electfon; and Whereas, both prior and subsequent to that electfon, the one-vote-per-voter rule generated and contfnues to generate anger, frustratfon, and ill-will among Enfield Fire District residents, as well as among those candidates, both successful and unsuccessful, for Fire Commissioner positfons; persons who believe the electfon procedures unfairly limited their choices and denied them their franchise; and Whereas, this Town Board believes equity and fairness dictate that the New York State Legislature provide legal clarity and correct Sectfon 174(2) of Town Law so as to permit the castfng of multfple votes in first electfons of this type and thus enable voters to express their preferences for not just one, but for all five positfons in an initfal Board of Fire Commissioners electfon; and Whereas, although the procedural flaw identffied by this Resolutfon may never again confront voters in the Enfield Fire District, it may affect similarly-situated voters elsewhere in future district electfons within New York State and thus 5 become an error of law effectfvely capable of repetftfon but evading review, an error deserving immediate, pro-actfve legislatfve correctfon; therefore be it Resolved, that the Enfield Town Board respectiully requests that the New York State Senate and Assembly promptly enact and the Governor subsequently sign an amendment to Sectfon 174(2) of New York State Town Law, an amendment carrying appropriate language to clarify the procedures for first electfons of fire district officers, an amendment that enables fire district voters to cast ballots for as many positfons on a Board of Fire Commissioners as exist to be filled in that electfon; and be it further Resolved, that the Town Clerk shall forward copies of this Resolutfon to the following: the Hon. Kathy Hochul, Governor of the State of New York; the Hon. Lea Webb, New York State Senator; the Hon. Dr. Anna Kelles, New York State Assemblymember; the New York State Associatfon of Towns; and the Associatfon of Fire Districts of the State of New York. Councilperson Lynch moved and Supervisor Redmond seconded. Discussion: Councilperson Lynch explained why we are presentfng this. The determinatfon by former legal counsel for the Fire District involving votfng procedure during the December 2023 electfon led to a rule that led to much anger, and angst among Town Residents. Each voter could only cast one vote, not one vote for each commissioner positfon. We in Enfield ought to instruct the state legislature to clarify this law. Councilperson Lemke the problem that we had with the electfon is that there was a problem with cumulatfve votfng as there was no law that allowed for cumulatfve votfng. Councilperson Lemke is not sure this language is helpful and this verbiage is ambiguous. It is not clear if it allows for cumulatfve votfng and she is confused as to what he is trying to do. What is the questfon to be asked, should we allow for cumulatfve votfng. Supervisor Redmond would like to table this and asks that Councilperson Lemke review the language and adapt it as needed. Councilperson Lynch he worked on this resolutfon extensively and believes that it is appropriate. Supervisor Redmond moved to table this resolutfon and Councilperson Hinkle seconded. Vote: Councilperson Hinkle, Aye; Councilperson Lemke, Aye; Councilperson Lynch, Nay; Councilperson Millspaugh, Aye; Supervisor Redmond, Aye; Carried. Set Public Hearing – Proposed amendment to New York State Town Law Sectfon SS174. Fire district Officers. Though this item was placed on the meetfng’s agenda, Supervisor Redmond withdrew the setting of a public hearing, as the amendment of Sectfon 174 of Town Law is a State matter, not a decision of the Town. Discussion: Subdivision Regulatfons. Supervisor Redmond had asked board members to review subdivision regulatfons pages 10-12. Supervisor Redmond asked for questfons/comments. Councilperson Lemke sent several comments to Dan Walker and the only substantfve questfon she has for the board is the way these rules work if someone wants to divide a property into two lots, can they can just go to Alan to do so. Theoretfcally they could come back and request an additfonal subdivision after 12 months, should the board change this to 24 months. The consensus of the board was to change the 12 months to 24 months. The board had no other suggested changes for the remainder of the reviewed pages. Supervisor Redmond asked board members to review up to major subdivisions on page 18 before sectfon 230 for the next meetfng. Privilege of the Floor: Councilperson Hinkle asked Randy Brown about Family and Children’s dissolving. Clerk Cornell updated the Town Board on the current status of the Dog Enumeratfon. Councilperson Lynch asked Clerk Cornell if we had received a response yet from the NYSDOT on the study of Appelgate Rd. Clerk Cornell responded that she had and she will email the document to the Town Board Members. Adjournment: Councilperson Hinkle motfoned to adjourn, Adjourned at 9:59 PM. 6 Respectiully submitted, Mary Cornell Mary Cornell Town Clerk