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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-10-2001 TOWN OF GROTON MINUTES OF TOWN BOARD MEETING AND SECOND PUBLIC HEARING ON 2001 SMALL CITIES PROGRAM TUESDAY, APRIL 10, 2001, AT 7:30 PM Those present: Glenn E. Morey, Supervisor Ellard L. Sovocool, Councilman Donald F. Scheffler, Councilman Duane T. Randall II, Councilman Francis Casullo, Town Attorney Absent: Sheldon C. Clark, Councilman Also present: Colleen D. Pierson, Richard Case, Liz Brennan, Donald Palmer, Margaret Palmer, Amy Randall. PUBLIC HEARING – 2001 SMALL CITIES PROGRAM This was the second of two Public Hearings that the Town was required to hold for the 2001 Small Cities Program. Supervisor Morey opened the Public Hearing at 7:30 PM and read the public notice for this second Public Hearing as it appeared in the Town’s official paper, the Groton Independent on Wednesday, April 4, 2001. Supervisor Morey inquired as to whether the Town had received any written comments from the public. Clerk Pierson said there had been none. Supervisor Morey – Dave Carlson, who’s our consultant and Stacey (Crawford), from Better Housing of Tompkins County, will not be here tonight but they gave me a couple of things to read. Some of the background of the program is the Housing and Community Development Act was first approved by Congress in 1974. The act was subsequently amended on several occasions, with the most recent amendment from 1990 as part of the National Affordable Housing Act. Under provisions of the amended act, communities can continue to be eligible for grant funds through the Small Cities Program. Funding for this program, as before, is on a competitive basis with communities competing with all applicants for available funds. In 2000, New York State assumed oversight of the competition for Small Cities funds for the first time. 2001 will be the second year of State oversight and operation of Small Cities Program. Town Board Meeting Page 2 of 15 April 10, 2001 Tonight we are going to apply to the State Governor’s Office for Small Cities, not HUD, for $400,000 to continue the town wide housing rehabilitation program started in 1994 and continued with grants in ‘95 and ‘96. The Town will compete with 200 to 300 small communities for $35,000,000. Approximately 30 rd to 100 will be funded. Applications are due by April 23. Announcements are expected in August. Any public comments? Questions? Councilman Randall – I went down after our Board meeting last month and worked with them, went through the application process and we sorted out very low income type things. There were like 160 total applications, which was pretty decent. It kind of broke up into about 43 or 41 of very low income and low income. A lot of them were mobile homes. Then I set up appointments for Bob Hunt. I called the homeowners that qualified under the very low income and set up ten appointments so they could get the grant process underway. It was kind of neat to be able to be in on that end of it. Supervisor Morey – Thank you, Tyke. Motion was made by Councilman Sovocool to close the Public Hearing at 7:35 PM. Seconded by Councilman Scheffler. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Randall, Morey. RESOLUTION #28 AUTHORIZING SUBMISSION OF A 2001 SMALL CITIES APPLICATION UNDER TITLE I OF THE HOUSING & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 1979 MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Randall. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Randall, Morey. WHEREAS, the Housing and Community development Act as first passed by Congress in 1974 and subsequently amended by the National Affordable Housing Act (NAHA) of 1990 provides for a program of Community Development Block Grants for Small Cities; and WHEREAS, the Town of Groton is an eligible applicant under said Act and Amendments; and WHEREAS, the Town of Groton has complied with all program planning, citizen participation and application preparation requirements outlined in applicable Federal and State regulations; and WHEREAS, the Small Cities application requires certain certifications and disclosures to be submitted as part of the application; Town Board Meeting Page 3 of 15 April 10, 2001 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Town Board of the Town of Groton, being the governing body thereof, as follows: 1.That the Supervisor be and is hereby authorized and directed to submit a 2001 Small Cities application to the Governor’s Office for Small Cities for the Groton Housing Rehabilitation Program, and to act as the authorized representative of the Town of Groton, and to provide such technical information as may be requested; and 2.That the Supervisor be and is hereby authorized and directed by the Town Board of the Town of Groton to execute on behalf of the Town of Groton any such certifications and/or grant agreements as may be required to accept the grant and implement the proposed program. RESOLUTION #29 ADOPTING POLICIES REQUIRED AS PART OF THE SUBMISSION OF A SMALL CITIES COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT APPLICATION MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Sovocool. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Randall, Morey. WHEREAS, the Town of Groton, New York is an applicant for Small Cities Community Development Block Grant funds administered by the Governor’s Office for Small Cities; and WHEREAS, as part of the requirements to submit an application for funds under the Small Cities Program, communities must adopt certain policies relative to the program and municipal conduct; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, by the Town Board of the Town of Groton that the Town of Groton hereby adopts and will follow the Citizen Participation Plan and Residential Antidisplacement and Relocation Plan (should relocation and/or displacement be required as part of the Small Cities Program); and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, by the Town Board of the Town of Groton that the Town of Groton has adopted and/or hereby adopts the following policies: 1.The Town of Groton will prohibit the use of excessive force by law enforcement agencies within its jurisdiction against any individuals engaged in non-violent civil rights demonstrations; and 2.The Town of Groton will enforce applicable State and local laws against physically barring entrance to or exit from a facility or location which is the subject of such non- violent civil rights demonstrations within its jurisdictions; 3.The Town of Groton will provide a drug-free workplace by undertaking and implementing a drug-free workplace plan consistent with certifications required by Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 as amended. Town Board Meeting Page 4 of 15 April 10, 2001 MOVED by Councilman Randall, seconded by Councilman Scheffler, to approve the minutes of the March 13, 2001 meeting as presented. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Randall, Morey. MOVED by Councilman Scheffler, seconded by Councilman Sovocool, to approve the minutes of the March 20, 2001 Hearing for 2001 Small Cities Program. General Fund Claim Numbers 87-112 of the in the amount of $15,140.82 were presented for audit. MOVED by Councilman Scheffler, seconded by Councilman Randall, to approve the General Bills for payment. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Randall, Morey. Highway Fund Claim Numbers 47-65 of the in the amount of $17,603.23 were presented for audit. MOVED by Councilman Sovocool, seconded by Councilman Scheffler, to approve the Highway Bills for payment. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Randall, Morey. Special Grant (HUD) Fund Claim Number 205 of the in the amount of $4,936.91 was presented for audit. MOVED by Councilman Randall, seconded by Councilman Scheffler, to approve the HUD bill for payment. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Randall, Morey. Privilege of the Floor: Peg Palmer – I just have a statement I would like to make. For the past three years the Court personnel have requested help in creating a safe working environment by limiting access to the Court Office by persons other than Court personnel. For ten years the Court Office was accessible to anybody and everybody. Even when others in the building referred to the Court customers as, quote, unquote, “those people”, the office remained accessible. No one was concerned for the safety and well being of the Court personnel. Even the Court personnel did not realize their vulnerability. Then one night, three years ago, the Town Hall was broken into. Entry was gained through the Court Office window facing the parking lot. Entry was not gained through the Court Room window; not through the Planning Room window; and not through the Town Clerk’s window; but the Court Office window. The perpetrator of this crime sat in the Court Office one week prior to this burglary. As the Court Clerk wrote a receipt for his payment of his fine, he sat casing the office. He observed the location of that window in relation to the rest of the room. As a consequence of this incident, the Court personnel became aware of their vulnerability and requested help in limiting access to the Court Office. They no longer felt comfortable letting just anybody into the Court Office. They had no problem dealing with the customers of Court. The problem lay with allowing these customers and others full access to the office. Town Board Meeting Page 5 of 15 April 10, 2001 A colleague in a small village in the North Country had a similar situation. Her office was accessible to anybody and everybody. One day a Court customer, unhappy with the way his case was going took his frustration out on the nearest person, the Court Clerk. He assaulted her in her office. As a result of this attack her village realized that all personnel in the building were vulnerable. They subsequently have installed motion detectors. The video cameras and monitors are being installed next year. More importantly, the Court Clerk is now working in a safer environment in an office that has limited access. She communicates with the Court customers just as efficiently through a glass partition. As a result of the break-in three years ago, the Town did install motion detectors and security locks in the Town Hall. But these are only activated after everybody has left the building. The Court personnel are still waiting for a safe working environment to be provided by the Town. After the incident, the Court Office no longer had an open door policy. The door was locked. Office hours were limited to when a judge was in the office. When a judge was not present, the customer would knock on the door, was asked to identify themselves, state the reason for coming into the office, and then be let into the office. This, however, did not solve the problem of limited access through the office by persons other than Court personnel. Anybody and everybody still had full access to the Court Office. The Court Office will be accessible from now on to everybody and anybody, anytime someone is present in the office. The Town, as an employer, has both a moral and a legal responsibility to provide a safe working environment for all employees. I will have to seriously consider how much longer I can work for an employer who has little regard for an employee’s safety or well- being. Margaret Palmer then said goodnight and the Board responded with the same. Supervisor Morey – Thank you Peg. Monthly Reports: Elizabeth Brennan, Bookkeeper – You’ve got your revenues and expenditures. They’re up to st date as of March 31 and a listing of the cash. The audit ought to be arranged, probably after th April 15, the private auditors. They will also do the Court records and my records. I don’t have anything else at this point. Does anybody have any questions? If you are looking through the expenditures, you’ll find for the truck, it looks like a minus for a balance, and that’s just because I hadn’t liquidated the encumbrance yet, but I’ve done that, but it’s not showing up as of st March 31. It will actually have a plus balance, in case you were upset about that. The only other thing, there’s 20 dollars that came out the attorney’s account, Colleen, and it was for your tax…….. Clerk Pierson – No, that was invoiced by Fran with his wages and it was for a diminishing lien release and he had to pay the cost at the County and we are reimbursing it. Actually, it’s a HUD fee, but I had no place to take it out of other than his contractual. Elizabeth Brennan – That was a HUD fee? Clerk Pierson – Yes. Town Board Meeting Page 6 of 15 April 10, 2001 Elizabeth Brennan – Well, we could take it out of miscellaneous, I just didn’t want…… Clerk Pierson – Miscellaneous what? Elizabeth Brennan – Attorney, rather than his Contractual Attorney one. Clerk Pierson – Would that really make any difference? His contractual is really for additional expenses, books or whatever he has to have. And these are small, and I believe he is doing another one too. Elizabeth Brennan – Well sooner or later, we will be off $20. Clerk Pierson – Are you eventually going to charge it back to the HUD, like it should be? I always believed that these were handled by Better Housing, not by our Town Attorney. It’s lien releases. That is part of their project. Elizabeth Brennan – Well usually the lien releases went through the County and the County had taken it directly. If it happened to go through here for $20, I don’t see where that would be any big to-do. I’m just going to take it out of his miscellaneous. I’m just going to move it so….. Clerk Pierson – I don’t think it makes that much difference. He hasn’t done a lot of them. I know he is doing another one though. Some more discussion took place with everyone talking at once. Ms. Brennan told Clerk Pierson that she thought the abstract had said something about association dues or something. Clerk Pierson said that she would check the previous month’s bills and abstract the next day and get back to her since it was not clear what the problem was. Further discussion on lien releases ended with the consensus that it is part of the administration costs in the Town’s agreement with Better Housing and that paperwork should be sent to them for filing at the County Clerk’s Office. Richard C. Case, Jr., Highway Superintendent - Submitted the following report to the Board. At the present time the Highway Department is preparing for the transition of equipment from winter operations to spring and summer operations. Winter maintenance and repairs have demanded priority the last few weeks. The Highway crew has endured a long winter season and has my thanks for their dedication. Many events have taken place since my last report. Truck #22 rolled over on its' side on Sincerbeaux Road during an ice storm. The operator was sent to the hospital as a precautionary measure and minor bumps and bruises were reported. The truck was out of service for about a week while Crispell's Truck Service checked the vehicle for damage. This time also allowed the insurance adjuster to do his survey. There was damage to the dump body, glass on the rider's side of the vehicle as well as some other minor parts. When the check arrives and the insurance claim is closed, I would like to request that this money be placed in the equipment repair account #5130.4. This will allow us to continue making the needed repairs. Town Board Meeting Page 7 of 15 April 10, 2001 The annual road inventory report which I am required to file with the N. Y.S. Dept. of Transportation was certified and records that the Town of Groton maintains 53.45 miles of roadway. For your general information the Town of Groton, during the winter months, plows and de-ices all county roads within its' borders (39.10 miles). During the winter months the building has not been ignored. The repair shop portion of the building was pressure washed and painted, a safety rail was built for the overhead storage area and tire racks were constructed. These projects were performed by Highway employees. The new truck is now in the Town of Groton's possession and is presently on display. When time allows, the snow-fighting equipment will be mounted and checked and then the truck will be changed over to summer operation. If everything checks out, it will than be placed in service. All vendors that bid on the rubber-tired excavator received notification of the results. Their bid bonds were returned and they were thanked for their efforts. Syracuse Supply is aware of the bid award pending permissive referendum. The referendum filing date expires, I believe, April 19. After that date, I will contact Syracuse Supply and attempt to secure a delivery date. The following items are in need of your action: 1.Permission for me to attend the N. Y.S. Association of Towns Highway School. 2.Resolution to co-sponsor, with the Village of Groton, the Spring Clean-Up Day. 3.Permission to purchase a one-ton truck from the N. Y.S. bid. 4.April or early May is usually the Annual Town Highway Tour. I wondered if anyone is interested in setting a date. Richard Case – If there are no questions, I will go to the following items that need your action. I need your permission I believe to attend the New York State Association of Towns Highway School. I sent the bill through. That way we could get the early-bird reduction. This is the time of year that we get into the spring clean-up. I kind of started that in motion, but I need your approval to do that. Jimmy Shurtleff and I have talked and we are going to try to do it the same way that we have been doing it. It will be up in the gravel bank on our property and we’ll share employees and probably do it the same way we have been doing it unless there are some changes you would like to have. I think it’s a worthwhile service that we provide. Number 3, when we did the budget this year, we budgeted for a truck to replace the shop truck that we took to the auction. I’m going to buy, with your permission, we’ll purchase that off of the New York State bid so you don’t have to advertise or go out to bid for that. The price of that is $26,038.80. We budgeted, I believe, $30,000 for that. Number 4 is April or early May is usually our annual highway tour. If anybody is interested, I certainly look forward to that. We hash out a lot of questions that you get presented with and I can take all the help you give me. Town Board Meeting Page 8 of 15 April 10, 2001 Supervisor Morey – Anything else for Rick before we start the motions? Also, the men are fixing, painting, scraping, taking rust off all the trucks too. They look real good. We really appreciate it. RESOLUTION #30 – PERMISSION TO ATTEND HIGHWAY SCHOOL MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Scheffler. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Randall, Morey. ESOLVED R, that the Town Board does hereby give permission for the Highway Superintendent, Richard C. Case, Jr. to attend the New York State Association of Towns Highway School in June of 2001. RESOLUTION #31 – SPRING CLEAN-UP DAY MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Randall Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Randall, Morey. RESOLVED , that the Town Board wishes to sponsor the annual spring clean-up day in joint cooperation with the Village of Groton. (Date to be announced later). Councilman Scheffler – Does Mark, he does a spring junk tour doesn’t he, where he sends out letters for junk appliances and cars? Wouldn’t it help if we had the clean-up day after that and coordinate it a little bit. Supervisor Morey – What kind of clean-up is this going to be? Is it going to be white metal? Is it going to be batteries, paint? Richard Case – Just like we’ve done previously was a steel, metal/wood product, chairs, TVs, computers, appliances. Supervisor Morey – Who takes care of the refrigerators and the Freon? Richard Case – What we have done previously is contracted with West Groton Salvage, Ward Harrison, and he brings dumpsters down and he is pretty much in charge. He handles that himself. Supervisor Morey – And we charge for tires? Richard Case – We charge for tires. What I will do is call the County and see what the going rate is and then we charge per tire. Town Board Meeting Page 9 of 15 April 10, 2001 Supervisor Morey – Now is this, are we limiting some things, like we don’t want shrubbery and…. Richard Case – Yes. Supervisor Morey – Okay, so we’ll have a complete list in the paper? Don’t we trade back and forth with the Village, one year on their location, one on ours? Richard Case – Previously, yes, but with the site that we have set up there now, I don’t know if you remember the huge stockpiles of stuff that we used to get and we had to go in and re-handle it. Now we’ve got the plow turn-around for the sand and everybody goes through that circle and we help them unload right into the tractor trailer dumpsters so that there is no large amount of steel or rubbish left behind. With their property down below where they were doing it we were handcuffed a little bit as far as moving traffic through. I have no problem taking care of it. RESOLUTION #32 – AUTHORIZE PURCHASE OF PICKUP TRUCK MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Sovocool Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Randall, Morey. RESOLVED , that the Town Board does hereby authorizes the Highway Superintendent, Richard C. Case, Jr., to purchase a one ton Dodge pickup truck with 8’ plow and dump body from the New York State bid for the sum of $26,038.30. th Annual Highway Tour Date for was set for Monday, May 14 at 9:30 AM. Colleen D. Pierson, Town Clerk/Tax Collector – Presented her monthly Town Clerk’s Report and Tax Collector’s Report for the Boards review. Clerk Pierson - I have received noticed from the Board of Elections where we are going to have to evaluate our voting machines and a questionnaire that we are going to have to fill out. They are looking for preventive maintenance so that we don’t have a “Florida” happen here, make sure everything is working. So, I have to get together with the custodians and get some of this paperwork done and back to them. They are really concerned. However, we had ours serviced last year so we shouldn’t have to do it. Did you find me any help to do this special districts review? Supervisor Morey – I don’t think they even got the copy. Did you get the copy? I didn’t make copies for them. Clerk Pierson – Well, I need some help to do this. What it is is the Assessment Office has asked us to check every residence to see whether they are in the Groton Fire District or the Town Board Meeting Page 10 of 15 April 10, 2001 McLean Fire District and Peru or McLean Light Districts. In several towns they have had them in the wrong one and they are not paying the proper fees. It’s a huge project. Councilman Sovocool – Who wants that, the County? Why don’t they do it themselves? Clerk Pierson – This is the way it’s going to be if they do it, just what’s on the paper. They don’t have time to do that. They told me it was up to the towns to do it. I guess since I’ve been here I have only had one person complain that they were in the wrong district and we squared that away right away. My feeling is that if they can’t look on there and tell whether they are in the right district or not, why should we spend all that time. Anyway, it’s there and I don’t think that I have time to go through every one of these things. Supervisor Morey – I would pass the responsibility back to the homeowner. Clerk Pierson – I would think so. It’s right on their tax bill. It says whether they are in the Groton or McLean Fire District. If they are listed as Groton, they should say, hey, I am McLean, not Groton. Don’t you think that? And the light districts too. Consensus was that the Board agreed. Arland Heffron & Arthur Dawson, Town Justices – Presented their monthly report for the Board’s review. Francis Casullo, Town Attorney – On the excavator, the Permissive Referendum time th requirement expires on April 19. I don’t anticipate anything happening, so I am going to start preparing the bond deed paperwork for the Groton Bank. Last month Glenn brought up a very good idea. I’m working on maybe drafting a local law to add a further layer of protection to town officers and officials relative to indemnification if they do something in the scope of their duties and somehow they are sued for it. I did some research and talked to some people out in Albany. It seems to be a popular thing out in western New York and probably near the Albany area as well. I received some information. I’m going to put together a local law and get it to you before the May meeting so you can look at it. We have plenty of time to pass it. Just so you can have of plenty time if you have some questions or comments or do whatever. Probably sometime in mid-summer we can pass it, if you want. It’s up to you, but at least I will get you the information so that you can look at it. Then we can go from there. That’s all that I have. Clerk Pierson – Just one thing, I think we do have one. I’ll get it out so you can look at it. But I recall them passing something like that the time we had the money missing in the Clerk’s office and so if something happened it would pick up where we weren’t responsible if something happened. Attorney Casullo – It had to be before my time. Why don’t you show me what you have and we will go from there. Supervisor Morey – The contract with Bob Demeree has been signed, which we had permission two months ago. Town Board Meeting Page 11 of 15 April 10, 2001 RESOLUTION #33 - PROCLAIM APRIL AS FAIR HOUSING MONTH MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Scheffler. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Randall, Morey. WHEREAS , in accordance with the Title VIII Fair Housing Policy of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 and the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 and, WHEREAS, the Month of April 2001 has been designated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office as Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity as Fair Housing Month, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town Board of the Town of Groton hereby declares and proclaims April as Fair Housing Month in the Town of Groton RESOLUTION #34 - DESIGNATE POLLING PLACES MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Randall. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Randall, Morey. RESOLVED, that the Town of Groton designates the following polling places: District # 1 - West Groton Church District #2 & #3 – Town Hall District #4 – McLean Fire Station RESOLUTION #35 – GRIEVANCE DAY MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Sovocool Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Randall, Morey. RESOLVED, that the Town Board does hereby set Monday, May 14, 2001 as Grievance Day to be held in joint session with the Village of Groton from 3-6 PM at the Town Hall on Conger Boulevard. Representatives for the Town to be Councilman Scheffler, Councilman Sovocool and Supervisor Morey. Supervisor Morey – Item number 12 was supposed to be tree foresting. I thought Sheldon was going to be here tonight. Town Board Meeting Page 12 of 15 April 10, 2001 RESOLUTION # 36 – APPROVE INCREASE IN ADT SERVICE CONTRACT MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Randall Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Randall, Morey. RESOLVED, that the Town Board does hereby approve the increase to the ADT Securities service contract of $6.46 per month beginning in June 2001. th Supervisor Morey – I kind of skipped over 12. The public bids will be due May 8 for tree forestry. The contracts are signed between the Town and Bob Demeree. So, we will just have to sit and wait. I believe there has been a lot of interest. There have been 24 things sent out. Announcements: McLean-Cortland Road and Bridge Project - Supervisor Morey spoke with John Lampman and they have commitments between the Federal, State and County governments and will start final drawings to be done June or July. Copies of all town supervisors’ letters that went to the County concerning telecommunication towers. thth Supervisor Morey will be out of Town between April 30 and May 5. Councilman Scheffler will sign paychecks. Copy of insurance report concerning car that was hit by snowplow. Supervisor Morey – I was hoping there would be comments after the statement (of Peg Palmer’s). I think I have to bring something up in the meeting. When I first got here, a year ago, we knew that the break-in happened and took it upon ourselves to get a security system in. The first thing that came up was a bare, standard security system. Colleen brought it up that she would like a panic button in addition to it. I thought it was a great idea and we added it on to the Court system. When Don was down here going through the drawing schematic he approached Peggy to find out the best place to locate the panic button and she basically couldn’t be bothered with spending time with the engineer from the security company as well as Don to find out where it was so they later just placed it where they thought was special. Colleen bent over backwards to help get hers done. We came up with an idea later on that she (Palmer) wanted a Dutch door. She wanted the solid B labeled door and supposedly, you couldn’t split that up. So, Tyke came up with an idea to have another door there, sort of like a skin. Tyke went back and forth and spent a lot of time on that and trying to get some ideas. When he spent some time and came to see Peggy, she basically said get out of here, I don’t have any time for you, I’ll call you when I get time. She never contacted Tyke and basically she never contacted Don. It has not been a great working relationship. Town Board Meeting Page 13 of 15 April 10, 2001 I took it upon myself to call a couple of people, only because they came in the office and asked. I have a couple of quotes here. One was for $2,200 for an all metal door, through the glass company., and the other is from Baker Miller….(tape ends and other side begins)…. I also want Bob Miller from Baker Miller Company to come over this week and get specs. I asked for a 3’ by 7’, standard door, B labeled, 60-minute door, a frame, as well as a solid core birch door, birch skin, brushed aluminum hinges, bored for 2 ¾ backset, other required hardware. This will be a Dutch door with a shelf that faces into the office. So, I would like to instruct them to come over here and have Tyke look for an installer to install it afterwards. What does everybody think? Councilman Scheffler – Which way is this door going to open? Supervisor Morey – Open in. Everything will open in. Besides the shelf sticking out in the hallway, it goes into the room. Councilman Sovocool – Does this mean the door will be open? Supervisor Morey – The half door will be open. Councilman Sovocool – You’re sure of that? Supervisor Morey – The lockset will be on the bottom and the top will have a deadbolt that goes down through it. It’s a 60-minute door. Councilman Scheffler – What’s different than what we talked about before? Supervisor Morey – The other one was a “shell door” that would open into the hallway, which wouldn’t give access to fire escaping or emergency exits. Councilman Sovocool – Is this going to entail moving desks or anything? Supervisor Morey – No, it will open the same as it does now. Councilman Sovocool – Is that going to cure any problems? Councilman Scheffler – Why wouldn’t this work before? Supervisor Morey – Miscommunication, I think. We wanted to do something simple and it became complicated. Councilman Randall – Bob Miller changed it, because that would have saved this whole problem from day one. He has given Glenn a whole different story than he gave me. I am just going to tell you, historically, you best be making sure that it is true. Supervisor Morey – It’s a 60-minute door. Clerk Pierson – Does that mean that it meets requirements of the Code for a fire door? Supervisor Morey – It’s all they give you. Councilman Randall – He said before they wouldn’t honor it because it’s a Dutch door. Councilman Scheffler – What about the window deal? Town Board Meeting Page 14 of 15 April 10, 2001 Supervisor Morey – I can’t find any…… Councilman Randall – I couldn’t get Bob Knapp to call me back. Supervisor Morey – I’ve looked around. There was some stuff that was taken out of a store in New York City, used stuff, but I haven’t gotten hold of the person who can get it or look for it. I think this door would be what she wants. Councilman Scheffler – Well, as Louie says, is it going to solve the problem or just create another one? Clerk Pierson – It doesn’t solve any problems of the people looking into the office. Councilman Scheffler – You could see the whole office. Councilman Sovocool – I would say put it in and say yes it cured the problem. It cures the problem. Clerk Pierson – It cures the problem and you are done with it. Councilman Sovocool – Right. One way or another. Councilman Scheffler – I want something in writing that she’s going to be happy after this. Councilman Sovocool – If she’s not happy, let her walk. Councilman Scheffler – That’s what I thought. I don’t know whether that was a threat or not. Councilman Sovocool – Well, that’s what I thought. I was almost tempted to ask. Councilman Scheffler – Was that a threat or a promise? I was trying to figure that out. Councilman Randall – I still say that the window will cure all the problems. I know it costs more, but this door, there is absolutely no safety involved with it. There is nothing. Several people say that is true. Councilman Scheffler – I don’t see it either. You can jump it, throw things over it, see everything that’s in there. Councilman Sovocool – Yes, a Dutch door is not…….. Councilman Randall – If we are really concerned about safety, like we are supposed to be, then we probably might better look at the window. We can look at another glass company. I do have the one from Lansing, North American Bulletproof. Clerk Pierson – They’re happy with theirs. Councilman Randall – You go down there and the door’s wide open and the two windows are beyond that. It’s like, okay, what’s this do, you know? Councilman Scheffler – They don’t have bulletproof glass at the Groton Bank. Town Board Meeting Page 15 of 15 April 10, 2001 Councilman Randall – No. Anyways, that’s just my opinion. Supervisor Morey – Okay, then we’ll go for the bulletproof glass? Councilman Scheffler – I’d like to see what it’s going to cost compared to the door. I think it would be safer. Councilman Sovocool – I would rather see that than I would the Dutch door. Councilman Randall – I haven’t been in her office in awhile, because she doesn’t let me in, but I don’t know where you would put this thing. If you have to make accommodations, if it’s wall to wall desks in there now, where are you going to put it so that they can use it? Councilman Scheffler – It won’t be right, no matter where you put it. Supervisor Morey – You put one in, then the furniture is going to have to change in there and the shelves are going to have to be moved. Councilman Randall – That’s what I mean. Are we going to hear a bunch more? Supervisor Morey – Well, I’m sorry, but if one person has to have a flat desk instead of having shelves on her desk, that’s how it’s going to have to be. So, we move forward, I guess. Councilman Randall – I don’t know why it has to be bulletproof. There is a window right there and it’s not bulletproof. I’ll try to get hold of Bob Knapp again. I’ll stop there. Councilman Scheffler – I like the idea of the window better. I think the door isn’t going to take more than a week and it will be something else. Clerk Pierson – And you know, it doesn’t matter who it is, but she seems to make them madder than a hatter and that’s what the whole problem is. Councilman Scheffler – She didn’t really ask for an answer tonight. Councilman Sovocool – No, she just gave you a statement. Supervisor Morey – That’s why I thought it was imperative that I said something about that and put it on record that we’ve bent over backwards trying to help her and haven’t had any cooperation whatsoever in anything. Next meeting, Tuesday, May 8, 2001 at 7:30 PM. There being no further business Councilman Sovocool moved to adjourn, seconded by Councilman Scheffler, at 8:25 PM. Unanimous. Colleen D. Pierson Town Clerk