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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-Apr-Jun-Municipall-Newsletter.pdf1 Town of Enfield Municipal Newsletter 168 Enfield Main Road http://townofenfield.org April-June 2015 Enfield Town Boards Meetings are held in the Community Building, 1st floor Town Board: 2nd Wednesday, 6:30pm Town Supervisor Ann Rider 277-3478 ann-rider@townofenfield.org Vera Howe-Strait Town Council Members Virginia Bryant 387-9376 Mike Carpenter 277-4204 Vera Howe-Strait 273-1413 Beth McGee 229-7870 Planning Board: 1st Wednesday, 7pm Chair, Dan Walker 387-6394 Ann Chaffee 272-6460 Dawn George 273-1247 Steve Givin 273-7434 Calvin Rothermich 272-5930 Red Poney Carpenter 279-2372 Henry Hanstein 727-3746 Town Offices Town Clerk 273-8256 Alice Linton, Town Clerk Sue Thompson, Deputy Town Clerk Town Office/Clerk Hours: Monday-Thursday, 3 pm - 6 pm Highway Department 272-6490 Barry Rollins, Highway Superintendent Town Highway Office Hours: Monday-Friday: 6 am - 2:30 pm Town Court 273-0363 Justice Poole: Monday, 5:00 pm Code Enforcement Office Community Building, 2nd floor Code Enforcement 277-0266 Alan Teeter, Code Enforcement Officer Code Enforcement Office Hours: Monday thru Thursday 8:30-11 am Wednesday 5-7 pm - Community Bldg, dwnstrs 882-9958 Town Historian Sue Thompson 272-6412 Enfield Volunteer Fire Company Roger Lauper, Chief 272-8757 Larry Stilwell, Deputy Chief Kirk VanDee, 1st Assistant Chief Alan Teeter, 2nd Assistant Chief Tony Carlisle, Captain County Legislators Dave McKenna Enfield/Newfield 564-7243, dmckenna@tompkins-co.org Jim Dennis Enfield/Ulysses 387-4058, jpd821@yahoo.com Report from the Supervisor: EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS We may not agree on why it is happening but everybody I talk to agrees that we are having more and more extreme weather events. With this in mind, and because Enfield has already suffered from one of those severe events (the deluge in August 2013), I, with my trustie committee and the wonderful, wonderful expertise of Beth Harrington and Brian Wilbur from the County Emergency Planning Office, am preparing an Emergency Plan for the Town of Enfield. The County has a plan but each municipality needs to have one because each Town has special needs and circumstances that need to be considered. The committee has met three times and we are well into the process of gathering information from our residents. The Living Waters Church has provided a list of people in their congregation who are willing to help in an emergency. Lisa Reiger, Principal of the Elementary School, and the Fire Department are writing down an evacuation plan and will schedule a practice this spring. I'm preparing an information sheet that I hope all farmers and businesses will be cooperative with in listing the number of animals, kind of animals, how long do they think they can be self sufficient?, what equipment do they have that they might loan in case of an emergency and their precise address so we can put these operations on a huge map that will hang in the Fire House and a couple of other places in the Town. During this process, I have been reminded that every household is expected to be self-sufficient in their home for 72 hours. This is a national expectation. Apparently this is sometimes advertised on TV. If you’re like me, you have never seen this so I'm going to remind you: · Water, one gallon per person per day · Food · Battery-powered or hand-crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert and extra batteries for both · Flashlight and extra batteries · First aid kit · Whistle to signal for help · Dust mask, to help filter contaminated air and plastic sheeting and duct tape to shelter-in-place · Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation · Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities · Can opener · Local maps · Cell phone with chargers, inverter or solar charger Once you have gathered the supplies for a basic emergency kit, you may want to consider adding the following items: · Prescription medications and glasses · Infant formula and diapers · Pet food and extra water for you pet · Cash or traveler's checks and change · Important family documents (see Emergency Financial First Aid Kit on the FEMA web site) · Sleeping bag or warm blanket for each person · Complete change of clothing including long sleeved shirt, long pants and sturdy shoes Continued page 2 2 Need a Space to Meet? The Enfield Community Center is available for Enfield community events and activities, and has tables and chairs available. To reserve space, or report a problem with the facility, contact the Town Clerk for the appropriate referral. Helpful Tompkins County Web Sites (all begin with http://www.): Government: co.tompkins.ny.us Legislature: tompkins-co.org/legislature Assessment: tompkins-co.org/assessment Board of Elections: tompkins-co.org/boe Clerk: tompkins-co.org/clerk Health Department: tompkins-co.org/health Highway Department: tompkins-co.org/highway Solid Waste: recycletompkins.org From the Town Clerk Now that tax season is behind us (for town and county taxes), we are starting to think about fishing season. When you purchase a fishing license (and we sell them at town hall), it is good for 365 days. Avoid the long lines at large stores, and come by town hall, 168 Enfield Main Road, during our office hours of Monday through Thursday from 3-6 p.m. Remember, you need to provide current rabies information when you license your dog. The health department's rabies clinic for Enfield is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, May 14 at the old highway facility (same place as in previous years). Please call our office at 273-8256, or check the town website, www.townofenfield.org, to confirm this date and place. Remember, all dogs residing in the Town of Enfield need to be licensed! Enjoy the warmer days ahead, Alice Linton, Enfield Town Clerk Property Maintenance: Reminder from the Town Board The Enfield Town Board has recently been looking at Code Enforcement in our Town. We had Tom DiTullio from the Division of Building Standards and Codes, Syracuse office, come and speak with us about the laws in New York State governing property maintenance and building safety. The Town is required to enforce the State laws regarding this subject. Basically there is one NYS law covering this subject; the NYS Property Maintenance Code of NYS. This law was put in place to insure the safety of all people in the State. Our Town, many, many years ago, decided to have a Code Officer whose job is to enforce most of this State law. The State has allowed latitude in how local municipalities administer and enforce the State law but there is no “opting out” of the State law. Most people are familiar with the Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code part of the law, where our Code Officer spends most of his time. He has to: · Issue building permits · Do construction inspections · Issue stop work orders if he deems work is being done dangerously or unsafely · Grant certificates of occupancy when there was a building permit needed or when there is a general change of occupancy to a building, ie, a building is a single occupancy house and the owner now wants to divide the structure into several apartments · Receive reports from the chief of any fire department regarding a fire or explosion involving a structure · Identify and address unsafe structures and equipment in the Town · Issue operating permits such as mass gathering permits · Conduct fire safety and inspections of all places of public assembly, multiple dwellings and all nonresidential occupancies at least yearly, · Have a complaint procedure · Keep records and make reports of his activities to the State Our Code Officer also has to enforce some other parts of the Property Maintenance Code of NY. There is a requirement that all property owners and landlords have to have heat, potable water, a sewage system that meets Health Department standards, a mowed yard, no broken windows, and no garbage or debris around their house and property because it is unsafe for the neighbors and the community. There is also a part of this law that allows one (1) unlicensed/inoperable vehicle per property. This does not affect storage that complies with applicable licensing requirements, such as repair garages, salvage yards, and similar establishments. In addition to auto junk/salvage yards covered under NYS General Municipal Law, there are also licensing requirements for automotive sales businesses and motor vehicle repair and inspection shops as controlled by the NYS Department of Motor Vehicles. There are further definitions regarding race/demolition derby cars and unlicensed farm vehicles. Contact me, if you're curious. I know this is dry stuff but the Board's intention is to continue to insist that the Town should be safe and pleasant for all residents. As a community we have to be mindful of our neighbors. Continued from page 1 I'll get some hand-outs so you can take one home. I know this will not the first thing on your to-do list and it's handy to have a reminder note. So this our community's first line of defense, for you and your family to be self- sufficient for 72 hrs. If you want to be part of this Emergency Planning Committee, call me at 277-3478 and I'll tell you when our next meeting is going to be held. Ann Rider Supervisor 3 News from the County Legislature Legislature Urges Delay in Change to STAR Exemption Tuesday, March 17, 2015 The Legislature reacted to a proposal in the coming year’s State Budget to convert the STAR (School Tax Relief Program) real property tax exemption to a personal income tax credit, which as proposed would start with exemptions granted for the 2015 Assessment Roll—applications that have already been approved by the Department of Assessment. The Legislature, by unanimous (with Legislator Nate Shinagawa excused) petitioned the State to delay to a personal income tax credit for any STAR exemption legally granted after the 2015 Assessment Roll to allow the public to be more adequately informed of this important change in their taxes, as of the March 1, 2015 taxable status date. By delaying this desirable transition one assessment year, the measure states, the confusion, inconvenience, and financial anxiety for the taxpayer can be avoided. Director of Assessment Jay Franklin called it “bad public policy to change the rules of the game” after the exemption has already legally been approved, and added that he recently learned that the proposal at this point has been removed from both Assembly and Senate budget bills. 2015 Strategic Plan for Aging in Tompkins County Monday, March 9, 2015 The Tompkins County Office for the Aging has compiled its 2015 Strategic Plan for Aging in Tompkins County, offering rich information about local aging related issues. The data will be used to inform decision making on aging services, not only by the Office for the Aging, but by public and private entities, and community groups. The 2015 Strategic Plan is based on the following efforts of the Office for the Aging: the 2012 Needs Assessment of the 60+ Population in Tompkins County, the 2014 Housing Needs/Preferences Survey, and a series of eight Consensus Conferences with input from older adults and community stakeholders on the following topic areas: 1) Civic Engagement, Volunteerism and Education; 2) Financial Exploitation and Elder Abuse; 3) Financial Security and Employment; 4) Housing; 5) Long Term Care; 6) Medical Care; 7) Mental Health; and 8) Transportation. Through this process, 145 participants identified our community’s strengths, issues/needs and recommendations for action. Among the key findings of the 2015 Strategic Plan are the following: · Tompkins County’s older adult population is growing and will continue to grow until approximately 2040. At the same time the younger generations will be relatively smaller in size, exacerbating workforce and caregiving issues. · The presence of higher educational institutions are assets to our community, offering research and programming in gerontology as well as students actively engaged with older adults as volunteers and in internships. · Tompkins County has a vast array of well-networked human service agencies offering assistance to older adults and their families. · Many of today’s 60+ population do not self-identify as “senior citizens” and therefore new methods of public information and outreach are needed. · There is a lack of transportation for people of all ages, including elders and especially in rural areas. Same day transportation to regional medical centers as well as after hours and weekend transportation are all needed. · There is a lack of affordable housing for people of all ages. · The current medical, mental health and long term care systems are fractured, difficult to navigate and stretched thin in terms of resources. The demands on the system will increase as Baby Boomers age. New paradigms of delivery must be considered and funding for existing core services that support the aging population must be enhanced to meet current and future demand. In addition, the Office for the Aging plans to work with the County and City of Ithaca to designate Tompkins County and Ithaca as an “Age Friendly Community” with the World Health Organization. This effort will formally engage older adults community stakeholders in a continuous improvement process in relation to aging issues. County Administrator Distributes Briefing Document on Governor’s Circuit Breaker Proposal Tuesday, March 3, 2015 County Administrator Joe Mareane distributed to Legislators a briefing memo on Governor Cuomo’s circuit breaker proposal, a $1.66 billion dollar plan that would provide a sliding-scale income tax credit for homeowners and renters whose property tax bill exceeds 6% of household income. The credit, which would be phased in over a four-year period would be linked to the property tax cap, and would apply only to those residing in “tax cap compliant” jurisdictions. Mr. Mareane’s “white paper” memo summarizes how the circuit breaker would work; notes concerns with how it could impact the County’s ability to provide services in the future; and recommends that the $1.66 billion be redirected to pay for the cost of State programs and obligations, such as Medicaid, that have been shifted to counties. Through such mandate relief, the report states, the State could reduce county property taxes across the state by one-third and provide broad-based property tax relief to all property taxpayers, rather than to only some homeowners and renters. 4 Town of Enfield 168 Enfield Main Road Ithaca NY 14850 Dates to Remember April 1 Planning Board Meeting, Community Bldg, 7 pm 1 Volunteer of the Month nominations due 8 Town Board Meeting, Community Bldg, 6:45 pm May 6 Planning Board Meeting, Community Bldg, 7 pm 6 Volunteer of the Month nominations due 11 Town Board Meeting, Community Bldg, 6:45 pm June 3 Planning Board Meeting, Community Bldg, 7 pm 3 Volunteer of the Month nominations due 10 Town Board Meeting, Community Bldg, 6:45 pm Looking Ahead: There will be five elected positions up for election this November. They are: Town Supervisor - 2 year term Town Highway Superintendent - 2 year term Town Clerk - 2 year term Two Town Councilperson seats - 4 year terms If you have interest in running for any of these positions, or would like more information about them, please contact your party chair or the Tompkins County Board of Elections: 128 East Buffalo Street Ithaca, NY 14850 (607) 274-5522 http://tompkinscountyny.gov/boe