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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-13-2001 TOWN OF GROTON MINUTES OF TOWN BOARD MEETING FEBRUARY 13, 2001, AT 7:30 PM Those present: Glenn E. Morey, Supervisor Ellard L. Sovocool, Councilman Donald F. Scheffler, Councilman Sheldon C. Clark, Councilman Duane T. Randall II, Councilman Francis Casullo, Town Attorney Also present: Colleen D. Pierson, Richard Case, Mark Gunn, Liz Brennan, George Totman, Van Travis, William Holmes, Pete Carr, Joe Graham, Stacey Crawford, Chris Dempsey. MOVED by Councilman Randall, seconded by Councilman Scheffler, to approve the minutes of th the January 9 meeting as presented. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Randall, Clark, Morey. General Fund Claim Numbers 7 - 47 of the in the amount of $15,729.37 were presented for audit. MOVED by Councilman Sovocool, seconded by Councilman Scheffler, to approve the General Bills for payment. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Randall, Clark, Morey. Highway Fund Claim Numbers 2 – 23 of the in the amount of $34,322.44 were presented for audit. MOVED by Councilman Scheffler, seconded by Councilman Clark, to approve the Highway Bills for payment. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Randall, Clark, Morey. Special Grant (HUD) Fund Claim Number 204 of the in the amount of $292.65 was presented for audit. MOVED by Councilman Randall, seconded by Councilman Sovocool, to approve the HUD bill for payment. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Randall, Clark, Morey. Town Board Meeting Page 2 February 13, 2001 Supervisor Morey invited Privilege of the Floor. Bill Holmescable rates in the Town – I spoke earlier today to Colleen about the . I don’t know if anyone else has noticed that cable rates have gone up 20% in the last two years. I understand that we currently don’t have anyone representing us on the commission. Supervisor Morey – We do, it’s Dennis Butts. But are you interested in serving on it? Bill Holmes – Well, I’d be happy to. I guess my concern is why the rates are going up so much, especially the basic cable rates. It seems to me there are issues involved with why the cable rates are going up, but some of them should be controllable by that commission. Evidently there are groups within the cable area that wish to have up to nine community access channels and people have to understand that there are technical costs and real costs involved having nine community access channels. It is to the point where I basically want 3, 5, and 9. I can’t get them with an antenna and there is no technical way right now for the cable company under the current restrictions to provide a truly basic level of service as opposed to something that has many more of these other channels. Although I realize there is nothing that can be done about current rates, I am concerned about the continuing increases for people who just want basic cable service; they’re not interested in having other stations. I think that there are a lot of people now who have satellite dishes and they basically would like to get the local news and that type of thing because the satellites don’t provide that at this time. There are also the people who might not be able to afford $20 – 21 a month for a cable service. I was speaking with Time Warner and they indicated that the Town is working with a consulting company. There’s a consulting company in Washington State that under federal communications has provided a proposal to Time Warner and Time Warner has done a counter proposal. It’s including this idea of nine community access channels. I don’t know, I’ve watched television, and I don’t know how the rest of the people feel, but a lot of the program material that’s on there is something that I’m not interested in watching. I don’t know how other people feel about it. I think it’s important to have community access, but I think that having nine seems excessive to me in this area. All of these things technically cost money and prevent basic cable service from being more basic than it is. In addition, my research has indicated that the franchise fees which are imposed on everybody’s cable bill, currently at 3%, there is a proposal to raise those to 5%. This brings up a point of what is this additional funding going to be used for. What I found out, or at least what my research has said, is that part of this money is going to train people about how to use the equipment in order to produce a television show. Now, I appreciate that people would like to better themselves and might want to learn how to produce a show, but I would like to be an airline pilot too, and I don’t expect the taxpayers to pay me to learn how to become a pilot or pay me to learn how to do something else. I think that’s something that if it is interesting to do, there are courses in broadcast production over at Tompkins Cortland Community College. I believe Ithaca College also offers an extension program for that kind of thing. I don’t think the taxpayer should circuitously have to pay for this training and having a staff available for that. So, those are the concerns I’m bringing to the floor. At this point I am kind of interested in how this is going to turn out because if these things continue at their current rate, as I say they’ve gone up 20% in the last two years, what are we going to have for cable service in five years from now and what are people going to have to be paying for them? So, I would be interested in serving on the committee if there is a vacancy. I don’t want to push somebody else out of the position, but it seems to me that there should be some voice for people other than what I feel is a very “Ithaca- centric” design of our cable system. I don’t mean that negatively. I appreciate all the artistic Town Board Meeting Page 3 February 13, 2001 thoughts, and so on, that go into having this, but I think nine stations, and actually the proposal is nine stations plus five audio stations, all of which would cost people money at some point. People have to keep in mind, anybody who does have basic service, that each time that we add one of these community access stations to the basic cable tier, we are losing another station that might be more desirable to have. There are limits on the way the technology is. The cable companies have to plan ten and fifteen years in advance to have the type of equipment available. It takes time to put that in. And just deciding that we are going to have nine community access stations for sort of aloof reasons, all I can say, concerns me. Supervisor Morey – All right. Let me check with Dennis Butts and see what his interest is and I will get back to you this week. Bill Holmes – All right. Monthly Reports: Liz Brennan, Bookkeeper – You’ve got your reports in front of you. This is all of December st 31, 2000. I’ve been closing the books. So, all these transfers are what were necessary for the different accounts. I’m not going to go through the whole listing. The only thing that I am bringing up is the transfer from County Services and the Highway Town Wide DA5148.4, and that’s the County snow. $15,000 is going to the Capitol Equipment Reserve Account, so that’s not really going from one account to another, it’s going to the Reserve. Then the encumbrances, that would be 2000 money that would be encumbered over into the 2001 year. We have dog enumeration for $1000, reclamation of the gravel pit for $2000 and the Highway Town Wide Machinery, for the truck, $164,775, the Bridge, for the guardrail, $3000 and then the Part Town for the bridge approach, $10,000. If you look at the bank balance sheet you’ll notice that the State has decided to do away with the Unemployment Reserve Fund and the Capital Reserve Fund and they go back to the Operating Fund. So, in the General Fund you’ll see an extra cash account for Unemployment Reserve and that was what we moved out of the Unemployment Fund. And in the Highway Town Wide you’ll see actually two cash accounts. One is the Capital Equipment Reserve that’s already in the CD and I just separated out the $15,000 that we had moved from the County snow removal, which that $15,000, if you are looking for a down payment on the excavator, that $15,000 would work out because it’s from last year’s money and it won’t even effect this year’s budget. Are there any questions on any of this? I’m still in the process of closing, but probably by the next meeting I should have the books closed and the annual report done, with any luck. Town Board Meeting Page 4 February 13, 2001 RESOLUTION #13 – TRANSFERS: 2000 BUDGET MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Randall. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Randall, Clark, Morey. RESOLVED , that the Town Board does hereby authorize the following transfers to the Year 2000 Budget: General Fund – Town Wide: From: Engineer A1440.4………………………….. $2,941.33 To: Justices, Clerk Pers. Serv. A1110.13………. 353.62 Justices, Contractual A1110.4……………… 16.00 Bookkeeper, Pers. Serv. 1220.12………….. 1,386.35 Deputy Clerk, Pers. Serv. A1430.1……….. 628.04 Auditor, Contractual A1320.4…………….. 200.00 Buildings, Contractual A1620.4………….. 375.32 General Fund – Part Town: From: Contingency B1990.4……………………… $254.93 To: Zoning, Deputy Clerk, Pers. Serv. B8010.12 … 254.93 Highway Fund – Town Wide: From: Brush & Weeds, Contractual DA5140.4…… $2,043.39 To: Snow Removal, Vacation DA5142.11………… 36.66 Medical Insurance DA9060.8……………….. 1,193.10 Brush & Weeds, Pers. Serv. DA5140.4……….. 813.63 From: County Services DA5148.4……………….. $15,000.00 To: Capital Equipment Reserve DA878………... 15,000.00 RESOLUTION #14 – ENCUMBRANCES MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Sovocool. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Randall, Clark, Morey. RESOLVED , that the Town Board does hereby authorize the following encumbrances from the Year 2000 Budget: General Fund – Town Wide: Dog Enumeration A3510.41………………………. $1,000.00 Reclamation of Gravel Pit A8989.4 ………………... 2,000.00 Highway – Town Wide: Machinery, Equipment A5130.2 (truck)………..$164,775.00 Bridge, Contractual DA5120.4 (guardrail)…………. 3,000.00 Highway – Part Town: Gen. Repairs, Contractual DB5110.4 (bridge approach)… $10,000.00 Town Board Meeting Page 5 February 13, 2001 Richard C. Case, Jr., Highway Superintendent – At the present time, the Highway Department is dedicated to winter road maintenance. The Town has had 2 rain-thaw periods, which has produced little drainage or erosion problems at this time. Potholes and brush are being addressed when time and weather allow. Snow-fighting equipment in general is holding up well. The equipment preventative maintenance program is on schedule and the employees are to be commended for taking care of needed repairs. Due to their efforts, downtime has been kept to a minimum. With the help of the Village of Groton Electric Department, we have removed some hazardous trees on Spring Street Ext., Townline Rd., and Sobers Rd. When time, weather and manpower are available we will continue. Repairs to 2 heaters in the main shop and 1 heater in the Spring St. building have been completed by Highway employees. I am presently researching the availability of a new heater to replace the one that was disassembled to fix the others. The first 2 bays in the main shop are being steamed cleaned and pressure washed in preparation for painting. Safety railing and a tire rack are being constructed in the cold storage building. th rubber-tired excavator On February 9, 2001 at 1:00 PM, the bid opening was held for the that was advertised. Present at the opening were Supervisor Glenn Morey, Town Attorney Fran Casullo, Bookkeeper Liz Brennan, Anne Jackson from L.B. Smith, Mike Ramussen from Syracuse Supply and myself. A copy of the minutes of the proceeding will be given to the Town Clerk to place on file. TOWN OF GROTON BID OPENING Sealed Bids received for a “New 2001 Rubber-Tired Excavator”, pursuant to and in compliance with Notice to Bidders, were opened and read on Friday, February 9, 2001, at 1:00 PM, at the Town of Groton Highway Department, 101 Conger Blvd., Groton, NY. Present: Highway Superintendent Richard C. Case, Jr.; Town Supervisor Glenn Morey; Anne Jackson from L.B. Smith Co.; Mike Rasmusson form Syracuse Supply Co.; Attorney Francis Casullo; and Recording Secretary Elizabeth Brennan. Five companies picked up bid packages. We received a letter from Tracey Road Co. who picked up specs but did not bid at this time. The following five bids were received and read as follows: 1.Anderson Equipment Company 2001 Komatsu PW170ES-6 Option 1 – One new & unused rubber-tired excavator for the sum of $169,240. Option 2 – Net purchase price of new machine minus trade-in of the Town of Groton’s 1980 Badger Excavator for the sum of $164,240. Town Board Meeting Page 6 February 13, 2001 Option 3 – Purchase price of 5 year purchase lease with $1.00 buyout of rubber-tired excavator. Per year payment $37,228 x 5 years = $186,140. Option 4 – Purchase price of 5 year purchase lease with $1.00 buyout of rubber-tired excavator minus trade-in of the Town of Groton’s 1980 Badger Excavator. Per year payment $32,228; $37,228 x 4 years = $181,140. Guaranteed buy back price after 5 years of Town ownership = $50,000. st 2.Syracuse Supply Company (1 bid) 2001 Caterpillar M315 Option 1 – One new & unused rubber-tired excavator for the sum of $155,694. Option 2 – Net purchase price of new machine minus trade-in of the Town of Groton’s 1980 Badger Excavator for the sum of $151,194. Option 3 – Purchase price of 5 year purchase lease with $1.00 buyout of rubber-tired excavator. Per year payment $34,869 x 5 years = $174,345. Option 4 – Purchase price of 5 year purchase lease with $1.00 Buyout of rubber-tired excavator minus trade-in of the Town of Groton’s 1980 Badger Excavator. Per year payment $33,861 x 5 years = $169,306. Guaranteed buy back price after 5 years of Town ownership = $45,000. 3.L.B. Smith 2001 Volvo EW170 Option 1 – One new & unused rubber-tired excavator for the sum of $124,889. Option 2 - Net purchase price of new machine minus trade-in of the Town of Groton’s 1980 Badger Excavator for the sum of $123,889. Option 3 – Purchase price of 5 year purchase lease with $1.00 buyout of rubber-tired excavator. Per year payment $27,870.60 x 5 years = $139,353. Option 4 – Purchase price of 5 year purchase lease with $1.00 buyout of rubber-tired excavator minus trade-in of the Town of Groton’s 1980 Excavator. Per year payment $27,647.77 x 5 years = $138,237.20. Guaranteed buy back price after 5 years of Town ownership = $60,000. 4.S.C. Hansen Inc. 2001 Badger Cruz-Air 1085D Option 1 – One new & unused rubber-tired excavator for the sum of $189,788. Option 2 – Net purchase price of new machine minus trade-in of the Town of Groton’s 1980 Badger Excavator for the sum of $184,788. Option 3 – Purchase price of 5 year purchase lease with $1.00 buyout of rubber-tired excavator. Per year payment $42,594.29 x 5 years = $212,971.45. Option 4 – Purchase price of 5 year purchase lease with $1.00 buyout of rubber-tired excavator minus trade-in of the Town of Groton’s 1980 Badger Excavator. Per year payment $41,474.49 x 5 years = $207,372.45. Guaranteed buy back price after 5 years of Town ownership = $68,000. nd 5.Syracuse Supply (2 bid) 2001 Caterpillar M318 Option 1 – One new & unused rubber-tired excavator for the sum of $178,345. Option 2 – Net purchase price of new machine minus trade-in of the Town of Groton’s 1980 Badger Excavator for the sum of $173,845. Option 3 – Purchase price of 5 year purchase lease with $1.00 buyout of rubber-tired excavator. Per year payment $39,942 x 5 years = $199,710. Town Board Meeting Page 7 February 13, 2001 Option 4 – Purchase price of 5 year purchase lease with $1.00 buyout of rubber-tired excavator minus trade-in of the Town of Groton’s 1980 Badger Excavator. Per year payment $38,934 x 5 years = $194,670. Guaranteed buy back price after 5 years of Town ownership = $50,000 The bids will be reviewed by Rick Case, Highway Superintendent and discussed at the th February 13 Town Board Meeting. Adjourned 1:20 PM Respectfully submitted, Elizabeth Brennan, Recording Secretary Richard Case - After reviewing the specifications, I found that the S. C. Hanson and L. B. Smith bids did not meet the Town of Groton specifications thus leaving Anderson Equipment and Syracuse Supply the lowest responsible bidders. Comparing Anderson’s PW170ES machine against Syracuse Supply’s 318 and 315, I found that they all met and in many cases exceeded the specifications. Syracuse Supply is the only bidder that met the delivery cost and guaranteed to pay the penalty or supply the Town Highway Department for use within 30 days of contract award. The V8 boom and the hydraulics installed on the machine meet the needs of the Town’s applications. Caterpillar parts and service and their long history in the heavy equipment industry insure availability of future service. I’ve determined that Anderson’s Kamatsu is a very good buy. They went out on a real fact finding mission to get their numbers down and do what they did because I’ve been watching these bids closely in other towns and counties and it was pretty obvious they wanted to get in here. After taking into consideration Syracuse Supply’s 315 is $13,046 cheaper under option 2 and $11,834 under option 4 and it is my recommendation that the Town award the bid for one rubber-tired excavator, the M315 excavator, to Syracuse Supply under either option 2 or 4, and that’s depending on how we choose to make the payments. Supervisor Morey – Fran, do we have to have a public referendum to purchase it, first of all, and do we have to have one to lease it? Attorney Casullo – I think the reason you have to have the public referendum, Glenn, is because of the type of account that you are taking it out of. It’s a general type of account that you will be taking it out of. Richard Case – We’ll be taking the funds out of the Capital Reserve. Attorney Casullo – The Capital Reserve Fund, whether you lease or purchase, because it’s a general reserve account, you have to make the taking of that money subject to permissive referendum. Whether it’s a lease or a purchase, it doesn’t matter. Supervisor Morey – All right. Okay, Board, what do you want to do? Councilman Sovocool – Well, we need one, but I’m not so sure………..you said that Volvo one doesn’t meet the specs? Town Board Meeting Page 8 February 13, 2001 Richard Case – They didn’t bid a V8 boom and their hydraulic system is an open type system as opposed to a closed system. It doesn’t function as well as the others and as safely. The V8 boom gives us the ability to move closer to our machine and work closer. For the attachments that we were talking about, a closed hydraulic system is what we need. The other thing, as Liz was saying, we took that $15,000 from the County snow removal. I haven’t had a chance, other than the letter that Steve Gobel sent us, to do any research into that. Obviously, if we can put a down payment down on that principal, it would change that figure. As you can see, there’s about $3,000 difference between the bank’s total and the five-year lease program that Syracuse Supply provided. I think part of that is, like we talked before the meeting, that you have to figure out whether that $37,000 first payment……we don’t make the first payment until after a year. With Caterpillar we have to make the first payment 10 days after delivery. So, whether that interest on the $37,000 and putting the down- payment down would change that to make it more lucrative, I haven’t got that answer right now. Attorney Casullo – Rick, how much do you have in your account, your Reserve Account, right now? Richard Case – Right now, counting what we put in for 2001, $88,000. Attorney Casullo – So, you would have to do bonding for some of this? Supervisor Morey – No, we’d be leasing it. Attorney Casullo – You’re talking about a lease? Liz Brennan – Another option from the bank is a ……. Attorney Casullo – Right, that’s what I’m saying, a bond. Councilman Scheffler – I tend to go with the Cat, the 315. I think I would rather go with the lease over the bond simply because I think the bond is more like a credit card. It seems that way to me. But I see both sides of it. With the bond, we own the machine, so we have equity in it after three years. With the lease, it’s just gone, if we didn’t make the payments. Richard Case – Oh, I believe we are solvent enough…. Councilman Scheffler – Oh, I do to. I’m just looking at the whole picture. I think I would go with option 4. Richard Case – Fran, can we award this bid under option 2 and 4 and take time enough to research these numbers a little closer as far as how…………..can we award the bid as 2 or 4 for 30 days? Is that permissible? Attorney Casullo – How long did you hold the bids open for? Richard Case – We held the bids for 120 days. Attorney Casullo – I think you would really have to figure out……..I don’t think you could say 2 or 4, I think you would have to pick your option. Town Board Meeting Page 9 February 13, 2001 Councilman Sovocool – I would be in favor of option 4. But this lease price would be down if you minus that $15,000 off there, right? Richard Case – I’m not sure how their lease will work, whether we can put a down payment on it. I think the way you see it on the paper is kind of the way it would be set up. Now, I can’t answer that question, whether they would take a down payment and lower that. I can ask. Councilman Randall – I kind of lean towards the bond myself just because it’s lesser interest rate, it’s local, I mean I trust these people, I trust the bank. I’d like to see us keep the money here and work with them, but that’s just my opinion. I think that the choice that Rick made with the Caterpillar, I trust his judgment on that. I think that it will service the means that we have. Supervisor Morey – Is the bank calling this a lease or a…I thought this was a municipal lease from the bank. Is the bank calling this a bond, or a municipal lease? Richard Case – I thought it was a municipal bond. Supervisor Morey – I thought it was a municipal lease. Well, we’ll get that cleared up. Councilman Clark – I kind of agree with Tyke. I certainly agree with option 4. I would like to see the bond, if that would work out, but I’m not set in stone on that. Supervisor Morey – I really don’t think we’re able to make a decision tonight. You realize that, don’t you Rick? Did you anticipate an agreement tonight? Richard Case – The only thing I want to throw on the table is, as we wait 30 days, this crawls closer into the working season, so….. Supervisor Morey – All right, what is your time frame? Richard Case – My time frame is what you folks allow me to work within. Supervisor Morey – What about the referendum? Attorney Casullo – I think the purpose of the referendum…normally what you do is put a notice in the paper that the purchase of an excavator is subject to permissive referendum because X amount of dollars is going to be taken from the Capital Reserve Account for the purchase of this excavator. But you are going to have to come up with a number that you are going to be taking out for your purchase. Supervisor Morey – Before we advertise? Attorney Casullo – Yes. You have to have a specific number. Supervisor Morey – Are we prepared to do it tonight? Councilman Scheffler – I just want to say, I’m not set in stone with either option, as long, I just don’t want to see bonding become a habit. Town Board Meeting Page 10 February 13, 2001 Supervisor Morey – I think there’s a lot of questions here. Is it a municipal lease or a municipal bond? I was under the impression municipal lease and the Groton Bank was one of the few places that you could do that. So, I think there’s a lot of research that we should do. We have time with the 120 days for the acceptance of the bid. There’s an awful lot of information for you guys to look at tonight and to absorb. Councilman Sovocool – Is that interest going to remain where it is, or is it going to fluctuate up and down? Supervisor Morey – It has been. Oh, it’s a fixed rate. So, we can table this until next month and think about it. Okay Rick? Mark D. Gunn, Code Enforcement Officer – January was a little bit busier this year than last year. I didn’t have any permits last year and I had three this year. Only one was for an actual living unit, which was a manufactured home on Lafayette Road. The LSI’s are current. I did start the transitional training for the new Code. I started that in January at TC3. I have another course to go to in March and I have two to go to for the National Code in Dryden in April and October. I have already spoken with Glenn about this. Each of them is $100 a piece and I haven’t sent in the registration for either one of them yet. I did want to find out when the possibility is that I can purchase the National Fire Protection Codes that I had budgeted for. Am I to that point in time yet, where I can? Supervisor Morey – Give me a couple of weeks. Thank you, Mark. RESOLUTION #15 – GRANT PERMISSION FOR CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER TO ATTEND SCHOOLS MOVED by Councilman Scheffler, seconded by Councilman Sovocool. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Randall, Clark, Morey. RESOLVED, that the Town Board does hereby grant permission for Mark D. Gunn, Code Enforcement Officer to attend training schools at TC3 and at Dryden. Colleen D. Pierson, Town Clerk/Tax Collector – Monthly Town Clerk’s Report and monthly Tax Collector’s Report were submitted for the Board’s review. Francis Casullo, Town Attorney – Had nothing to present to the Board. Arland Heffron & Arthur Dawson, Town Justices – Monthly report was submitted for the Board’s review. Town Board Meeting Page 11 February 13, 2001 Supervisor Moreythe McLean Commercial – Now we have a presentation by Van Travis for Center Revitalization Strategic Plan. Van Travis – Do all of you have a copy of the Plan? It is not my intention to really go through it in any detail. Let me just give you a little history of how this came about. Supervisor Morey forwarded to me or the McLean Community Council on several different occasions, the application for a community development grant. In looking into it, it appeared from the instructions that before a community could apply for such a grant, or grants, that it was necessary to have a strategic plan that was first approved by this body and then approved by the Tompkins County Planning Office. I inquired of them with regard to that and that was correct. In putting the plan together, we worked closely with the Tompkins County Planning Department. The Circuit Rider Planner, Karen Flores, came to McLean and met with the subcommittee appointed by the McLean Community Council to get the process underway. Upon getting the plan together, we did send it to the County Planning Department for comment and suggestions. We did that because rather than going on our own, going through this whole process and then having it returned, which then would mean coming back here to have it analyzed again, it seemed that that was the prudent way to do it. They have looked at it. They have made no suggestions for alteration or amendment. In fact, they sent us a letter, and I think you received a copy of it, Glenn, commending the people of McLean for the job that we had done, which I think indicates that we have at least preliminary approval with regard to the plan, as opposed to a formal approval. The process requires that you, as a Board, review the plan and give it your approval, if that is what you deem appropriate, that you then, the Supervisor sign it, present us with a letter denoting the actions of the Board with regard to it. And then as noted on the form, we are going to ask our County Legislator, George Totman, to also affix his signature to it by way of acknowledging that he is aware of it, and then also, it will be signed by Joe Graham, who is president of the McLean Community Council, and at that point, forwarded to the Tompkins County Planning Department for their final approval. When that occurs, we in McLean will then be eligible to apply for Community Revitalization Grants. The program, as you probably know, applies both to public entities and individual property owners. With respect to communities or governmental groups, the requirement in cost sharing is that it can be in kind. With respect to individual property owners the cost sharing has to be monetary, cash. I think some of you may be aware that the Village of Groton has been eligible for these kinds of grants for an extended period of time and has taken advantage of the program for a number of years now, both the Village itself, that is the Village government, as well individual property owners within the Village. There are other communities around the County that also participate in this. So, our request from the Hamlet of McLean is that you approve this plan and give us access to the Community Revitalization Grants that are made available through the Tompkins County Planning Department. I am not going to go through the plan. It’s pretty straightforward. But I would be glad to answer any questions that any of you might have with regard to it. Councilman Sovocool – I read it and it looks pretty good. Supervisor Morey – Excellent job, I mean, it was a great job. Town Board Meeting Page 12 February 13, 2001 RESOLUTION 16 – APPROVE MCLEAN COMMERCIAL CENTER REVITALIZATION STRATEGIC PLAN MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Sovocool. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Randall, Clark, Morey. RESOLVED, that the Town Board of the Town of Groton has reviewed and does hereby approve the McLean Commercial Center Revitalization Strategic Plan, presented to the Board by the McLean Community Revitalization Committee, for the purpose of improving the Hamlet of McLean’s business center, enhancing and restoring historically significant buildings, redesigning facades of recent structures which appear out of character, and providing signage. Supervisor Morey – Tonight Stacey Crawford is here for the Better Housing of Tompkins Housing Rehabilitation Plan County to discuss our grant on . Stacey Crawford – As Glenn mentioned, I’m here to present a little bit of background about the Housing Rehabilitation Program that the Town’s been doing for a few years. We have been discussing applying for Small City CDBG funding for another round of assistance to homeowners. The grant, basically, that the Town gets is used to help low-income homeowners with repairs of value generally between $5,000 and $25,000 per house. Over time there’s been a lot of work done in the Town and we’ve been finding with pre-applications and the interest we’ve been getting, that there’s more interest and more need out there. Just in the ‘90’s alone, I’d say that about 55 families have been helped with this program. What’s going on right now with the current round of funding that we have is that it’s almost out. We had an Oversight Committee Meeting today and approved what probably will be the final case for the program, which will spend out the money, which means if we want to keep helping people, we need to apply for more funds. Generally, the way this has happened in the past has been that the Town’s and the County and Better Housing and usually a hired consultant that specializes in these kinds of applications, work together. This means a consultant needs to be hired. There’s somebody that’s been used quite a bit in the past and I’m not sure how the Town wants to proceed with that, but that’s one thing that would need to be done. The sheets I gave out give some sort of general overview of facts about the program and the way it gets implemented, how the assistance gets rd provided to the folks in the Town. The applications are due on April 23 and they are something that we need to kind of move ahead on pretty quickly in order to get things in line to get the applications to the State. First of all we need the Town Board’s approval to proceed, then selecting and hiring the consultant to work with. We need to collect data then, to build up the caseload to be included in the application because that’s how you prove that there is need to the funding source. So, we would be printing a pre-application survey. I have some copies of one here and if we approve this tonight I can leave some so people can pick them up here if they like. We were going to print a copy of this in the Freeville Shopper and also mail it to residents based on tax map numbers of the Town. In that way we can see who else is interested. Once we collect that data, we need to do a windshield survey, which Better Housing can do. Probably it would have to be at the next Town meeting, there has to be a Public Hearing, which explains to anybody who is interested about the program and the funding available, and hear comments of support, or whatever. So, that’s sort of a brief overview of what we are proposing. Does anyone have any questions? Town Board Meeting Page 13 February 13, 2001 Supervisor Morey – This is probably one of the most worthwhile programs this Town has to offer its residents. The cost of the consulting is going to be about $6,000. A third will be paid by the Town, a third will be paid by the County, and a third will be paid by Better Housing. We do have the money, and we will be reimbursed if we get the grant, only if. So, it’s a chance, but I think we have some very good, powerful information that we are going to put into the application. Stacey Crawford – There is actually something about getting reimbursed for the cost if the grant gets funded that I found out from the State. If you are going to write into the application to get reimbursed for the cost, then you have to make sure you are doing a bid process to select the actual contractor that you use. If you don’t want to write the reimbursement in and just pay money to hire a contractor, you don’t have to go through that process. It’s a little quicker, but it’s up to you. Supervisor Morey – But the amount that we are going to be paying, $2,000 is under our biding policy, so we don’t have to do that Who’s the consultant? What’s his name? Stacey Crawford – David Carlson, Carlson Associates, is the one that’s been used in the past. He has a real good success rate. Supervisor Morey – Yes he has. We have been using him for the last three grants that we got. Any questions for Stacey? No one had questions. RESOLUTION #17 – APPROVAL TO PROCEED WITH SMALL CITIES CDGB APPLICATION MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Clark. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Randall, Clark, Morey. RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby gives approval to proceed with the application, due April 23, 2001, to the NYS Governor’s Office for Small Cities for the CDGB funding to assist approximately 20 families in the Town of Groton, excluding the Village of Groton. Supervisor Morey – Thank you for coming out. This is going to be in the Shopper next week. It’s the standard on that we have been using in the past. I have a resolution on the issue of tree foresting because I thought that Bob (Demeree) was going to be here tonight, but he’s not here. We’ve already approved it. Attorney Casullo – I’ll just review that contract with the changes that you made and have it ready for the March meeting. Is he going to be here in March? Supervisor Morey – Yes. He said it still is within time…the time period. Town Board Meeting Page 14 February 13, 2001 RESOLUTION #18 – APPOINT TERESA ROBINSON TO HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Scheffler. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Randall, Clark, Morey. RESOLVED, that the Town Board does hereby appoint Teresa Robinson to represent the Town of Groton on the Human Services Committee of Tompkins County. RESOLUTION #19 – APPOINT PATRICIA GAINES TO ZBA MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Scheffler. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Randall, Clark, Morey. RESOLVED, that the Town Board does hereby appoint Patricia Gaines to the Town of Groton Zoning Board of Appeals to replace Mary Decker for a term that will expire December 31, 2005. Supervisor Morey – The resumes are in your packet. Chris Dempsey – It appears that this has been a fairly upbeat meeting. I’m glad you invited me. renewal for the insurance for the Town Basically, what I have here is a . Then I have what the insurance has been over the last four years. Councilman Sovocool – Probably a lot more money, right? Chris Dempsey – Well, sort of, but not really. Yes, actually. Basically, the insurance is going up $2,000. That’s what it costs. But as you can see, it went down $2,000 last year and I just gave you a reprieve for one year. Basically, the insurance for the Town, for the last four years that I have had it has been approximately $31,500. Last year we got it down to $29,500. This year it shot back up on us. When you got it from somebody else the Town was paying about $3,000 more and the umbrella was, I believe, only $1,000,000. When you go over this point by point, as you can see by this, you can see how we’ve been able to keep it fairly within the ballpark, if you go from ’98 to present. Basically, all that I can say right now, and I’d say that you could talk to the other municipalities, the commercial insurance business is in quite a quandary. The rates are going up 10%, 15%. That’s what I am fighting right now. I had all I could do to keep it at this rate. I have no better explanation. I will say that Mr. Morey called me about six months ago and asked me if the insurance was going to go up. I dutifully called the company and said that the Town was trying to do their budget and was the insurance going to go up. They said of course not, they had had good luck with the Town, and it’s been profitable. So, darn them, they certainly went up a little bit on me. I called everybody I knew and they brought it down some but it certainly isn’t what I had hoped for. They said I couldn’t hold them to something that was so many months ago, which I tried to do. They weren’t very good about that. Just to go over this real quick, the property is $2,481,500. That is a blanket that accounts for all Town Board Meeting Page 15 February 13, 2001 the buildings and all the contents that we have. If this building were to go down due to a fire there would be 2.4 of available insurance. Our general liability is $1,000,000 and then we have the $4,000,000 umbrella above that. Inland Marine, that’s equipment that we have that isn’t on the road, like a bulldozer or something like that and that’s $450,000. Then the Public Officials Liability is $1,000,000 and here again, you have the $4,000,000 up above that. So, I zoomed right through it, but plain and simple, it went up $2,000. That’s about all I can say. I also will say that we’ve had excellent luck with this insurance company, Selective. We write checks right out of the office, up to $2,000 and the claim rep is in West Groton and we have had great success with him as far as claims. They are an excellent company, even though I am not very happy about this situation that they put me in. Supervisor Morey – You tried to get the parent company to hold the line. Should I try to get you to hold the line with no increase? Chris Dempsey – Well, you can try. That would be like me trying to say to the parent company, which they found fairly ridiculous, for me to ask them to hold the line six months ahead of time. I tried and it didn’t work. You know, if you want to ask a company what the rates are going to be you ought to ask them a month ahead, not so far ahead. I think that’s where I got in trouble on that. Supervisor Morey – What are your suggestions for next year? Chris Dempsey – I can say that I honestly believe this to be the best company out there for what you are doing. If this Board feels that they need to put it out to bid, I don’t have a problem with that, to protect yourselves and feel that you are getting the best deal. I honestly told this insurance company that we had competition for this but it didn’t do any good. I pulled everything in the book to try to keep it the same. Sometimes I think Boards have to put it out to bid to realize that they are getting good value, which I do feel that you are getting. I don’t think right now that there is anybody else in the municipal market that is competitive with this company. And I honestly feel that is why they are raising their rates, because they have no competition. If they are beating everybody by 10 – 15%, what’s the sense if you can keep the business and be 8% lower? I think that’s what has happened. This company has most of the municipalities in the area Richard Case – What’s the chance of Selective dropping us……………(not using microphone). Chris Dempsey – The honest answer is yes, but it’s almost no different than Glenn asking me six months ago are the rates going to go up and me calling and telling him no. I mean, they can change their mind all of a sudden that they going to start dropping municipal business. Overall, the Town of Groton has an excellent track record over 20 years of claims. We’ve had a few but nothing ………. They would have to get out of the municipal market. With all the municipal business they now have, it would be suicide for them to get out. Richard Case – You haven’t seen that trend though? Chris Dempsey – No. Honestly, we have seen like you are saying, some municipal companies getting out. That is what makes the ability for them to raise rates is that there are less players. There are less players in the game and I think it makes it easier for them to raise their rates because everybody else is. I do feel that at some point in time, to make myself feel comfortable, Town Board Meeting Page 16 February 13, 2001 I don’t have a problem with it being a bid situation, just because I know what the market is doing. Sometimes that makes people feel a lot more satisfied with the product they have. Some more discussion was held on the subject. No action was taken. upervisor Morey S– One thing about the Housing Rehabilitation Program, I forgot to tell you, there are going to be three expenses: a third of the consultant; we have to pay eventually for the advertisement in the Shopper; and we’re going to be mailing somewhere around 250 letters out to prospective people who will apply for the program. George Totman – Glenn, I find that it’s helpful that if you look at your neighbors and let them know what the program is, what the price scale is for a family. I became involved with this program four or five years ago and in talking with people on the street I’ve found quite a few people who were below the income level who needed a lot of work done on their houses and I had them apply. It’s really great for people who really need it. A lot of people don’t know about it. Supervisor Morey – That’s why we’re trying to do the Shopper and personal letters to people. Announcements: Sheldon and I will be in New York City February 19 – 21. Don, you’ll have to do the stnd paychecks. It will be the 21. Payday is the 22. th Planning Board Meeting is February 15. Lewie, you’re on. You’ll have to get the new people to fill out W2 forms, because we don’t have them. I’d like to call your attention to the sales tax report for the year 2000. th Next meeting is March 13, 7:30PM. Clerk Pierson – Remember I asked you about Radio Shack? They didn’t receive their payment in October. Supervisor Morey – The check never came back. Clerk Pierson – No, and I called the bank and it’s not back yet. So, what I need is authorization to stop payment on that check and issue another one. It’s for $38.33. We don’t know what happened to it. Town Board Meeting Page 17 February 13, 2001 RESOLUTION #20 – AUTHORIZE STOP PAYMENT ON CHECK MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Sovocool. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Randall, Clark, Morey. RESOLVED, that the Town Board does hereby authorize a stop payment on check #1473, written to Radio Shack in the amount of $38.33. moved to adjourn There being no further business, Councilman Sovocool , seconded by Unanimous. Councilman Clark at 8:30 PM. Colleen D. Pierson Town Clerk