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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-11-2005 TOWN OF GROTON – MINUTES OF TOWN BOARD MEETING ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING PUBLIC HEARING – THOMPSON UNSAFE BUILDING TUESDAY, JANUARY 11, 2005 AT 7:30 PM THE TOWN HALL, 101 CONGER BOULEVARD Those present: Glenn E. Morey, Supervisor Ellard L. Sovocool, Councilman Donald F. Scheffler, Councilman Sheldon C. Clark, Councilman Richard B. Gamel, Councilman Victoria Monty, Attorney for the Town Also present: Richard Case, Gary Coats, Liz Brennan, Mark Gunn, Duane Randall, Jack Anguish, Janet Anguish, Leon Bogardus, Reta Bogardus, Mary Ann Christofferson, Dave Christofferson, Tena McClary, Olivia N..?.., Brian Buttner R.A., Martin Shapiro Esq., Alberta Thompson, Lewis Thompson, Allen Edwards, April Scheffler, 2 others. RESOLUTION #05-001 - YEAR 2004 ORGANIZATIONAL ITEMS Item 1 – Depository . - First National Bank of Groton is designated as the depository for all monies coming into the hands of the Supervisor and Town Clerk of the Town of Groton. Item 2 – Official Newspaper – Groton Independent is designated as the official newspaper of the Town of Groton with notices also to be published in the Freeville Shopper. Item 3 – Law Firm – Victoria Monty/Francis Casullo/ of the law firm of Pomeroy, Armstrong & Casullo will be retained as Attorneys for the Town of Groton. Item 4 – Zoning Officer – Gary Coats Item 5 – Constable – Position Vacant Item 6 – Deputy Supervisor - Donald F. Scheffler Item 7 – Deputy Highway Superintendent – Peter Carr Item 8 – Deputy Town Clerk –Tena McClary Item 9 – Bookkeeper – Elizabeth Brennan Town Board Meeting Page 2 January 11, 2005 Item 10 – Full Time Court Clerk – Margaret Palmer Item 11 – Part Time McLean Crossing Guard – Margaret Albern Item 12 – Town Historian – Rosemarie Tucker Item 13 – Election Custodians –Lewis Robinson and Lee Shurtleff Item 14 – Town Health Insurance –Blue Cross/Blue Shield Health Insurance Item 15 – Town Board Regular Meetings – Second Tuesday of each month at 7:00 – 7:30 P.M. to review invoices and 7:30 P.M. for the Board Meeting Item 16 – Fix Salaries of Town Officers –Annual salaries of the following Town Officers - such salaries shall be paid at the time respectfully specified: a) Glenn E. Morey, Supervisor $ 8,500.00 Biweekly b) Ellard L. Sovocool, Councilman $ 1,654.00 Quarterly c) Donald F. Scheffler, Councilman $ 1,654.00 Quarterly d) Richard B. Gamel, Councilman $ 1,654.00 Quarterly e) Sheldon C. Clark, Councilman $ 1,654.00 Quarterly f) April L. Scheffler, Town Clerk $28,540.00 Biweekly g) Richard C. Case, Jr., Highway Superintendent $48,700.00 Biweekly st h) John J. Norman, 1 Town Justice $ 8,800.00 Biweekly nd i) A. D. Dawson, 2 Town Justice $ 8,800.00 Biweekly j) George R. Senter, Sr., Code Enforcement $16,498.00 Biweekly k) Rosemarie Tucker, Historian $ 1,000.00 Quarterly Item 17 – Set Hourly Rates – 1) Deputy Town Clerk $10.35 per hour 2) Court Clerk $12.25 per hour 3) Bookkeeper $15.66 per hour 4) Custodian $ 9.32 per hour 5) Crossing Guard $ 9.28 per hour 7) Constable $10.50 per hour Item 18 - Appointment of Representatives to Town and County Programs – County Youth Recreation Programs – Glenn E. Morey Environmental Management Council – Anthony Zarachowicz Tompkins County Transportation Council – Sheldon Clark Tompkins County Human Services Coalition – Teresa Robinson Tompkins County Planning Board - Vacant Groton Local Youth Program – Glenn Morey, Teresa Robinson, Tompkins County Fire, Disaster and EMS Advisory Board – John “Jack” Miller Town Board Meeting Page 3 January 11, 2005 - Item 19 – Supervisor’s Appointment to Committee Members – Finance – Glenn Morey & Donald Scheffler Machinery – Sheldon Clark Building – Richard Gamel, Donald Scheffler Fire Department - Ellard Sovocool Personnel – Glenn Morey & Donald Scheffler Zoning, Bldg. and Fire Code – Richard Gamel HUD Loans - Ellard Sovocool & Glenn Morey Light Districts – Richard Gamel Fixed Assets - Ellard Sovocool Senior Citizens – Sheldon Clark Recreation Committee – Donald Scheffler Comprehensive Plan – Glenn Morey Highway – Sheldon Clark Planning Board – Rotating Attendance Appeals Board – Rotating Attendance Item 20 - Set fees for Town Services – 1) Master List for Excavating $ 2.00 2) Certification of Taxes/Search $ 5.00 1st yr., $1.00 ea. addn. yr. 3) Photocopies - 8 1/2 x 11 $ .25 4) Photocopies - 8 1/2 x 14 $ .50 5) Photocopies - 11 x 17 $ .50 6) Transcript of Marriage $10.00 7) Marriage Certificate $10.00 8) Marriage License $40.00 9) Town, Village, County Maps $ .50 10) Mileage - Town Officials $ .375 11) Dog Licenses $18.00 unaltered $10.00 altered 12) Returned Check Fee $20.00 13) Fax Copies - Transmit $ 1.00 per page Receive $ .25 per page 14) Duplicate Tax Receipt $ 1.00 15) Town Directory $ 5.00 16) Land Use & Dev. Code $10.00 17) Mobile Home Ordinance $ 5.00 18) Certified Copies $ 5.00 Town Board Meeting Page 4 January 11, 2005 19) Town of Groton Zoning Fee Schedule: Building Permit Fee: $0 - $4000...…. $25.00 > $4000..…….$25.00 + $3.00 per $1000 over $4,000 Building Permit Renewals: ½ of the original fee and upon approval by zoning officer. Agricultural Buildings:........…...….. $ 25.00 Swimming Pool:………………….. $ 50.00 Wood Stove:………………………. $ 50.00 Shed:………………………………. $ 25.00 Application for Sign:........……....…. $ 25.00 Cellular Tower:.................…………. $ 2.50 Per $1000 of Construction Cost Demolition Permit:......…….........…. $ 25.00 Site Plan Review/Special Permit:...…. <2000 sq. ft. $100.00 >2000 sq. ft $250.00 Junk Yard Annual Inspection:......….. $ 25.00 Subdivision - Minor:..……..........…. $ 30.00 + $20.00 Per Lot Major:.......…….......….. $ 50.00 + $20.00 Per Lot Rural:.........……....……$ 20.00 + $20.00 Per Lot Flag Lot……………….$ 30.00 Boundary Change:….. $ 25.00 Planned Unit Development:...….....…$200.00 Application for Variance:.....……...…$ 50.00 Flood Hazard Area Comb. District:... $ 40.00 Flood Zone Certification:..……...…. $ 10.00 Certificate of Conformance:..…...…. $ 40.00 Item # 21 - Miscellaneous Appointments, Fees, Etc – Annual Retainer Fee for Legal Services 1) rendered by Pomeroy, Armstrong, and Casullo be set at $9,000.00 annually. Authorize Highway Superintendent 2) to give pay raises effective January 1, 2005 Authorize Annual Association of Towns Training School 3)– February 2005, in NYC – Margaret Palmer Appoint Margaret Palmer as Delegate for Annual Association of Towns Meeting 4) . Appoint contact people for Drug and Alcohol Testing Program 5) – Richard Case and Glenn Morey. Appointment of Town Planning Board Member 6) – Reappoint Brad Albro for a term to begin January 1, 2005 and end December 31, 2011. Appoint member to Zoning Board Member 7) – Reappoint Geri Rapp for a term to begin January 1, 2005 and end December 31, 2009. Town Board Meeting Page 5 January 11, 2005 Appoint members of Comprehensive Plan Committee 8) – Lyle Raymond (Chairman), Monica Carey, Mary Gloster (Vice-Chair), Steven Thane, Julie Graham, Doug Albern. RESOLUTION #05-002 - CONTRACT WITH KIRBY, BEALS & MAIER FOR AUDIT OF 2004 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Scheffler. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey. RESOLVED, that the Town Board does hereby retain the services of Kirby, Beals, & Maier & Company to audit Financial Statements including Justice Court for the year ended December 31, 2004 at a fee of $5,000.00. RESOLUTION #05-003 - APPROVE 2005 DOG CONTRACT WITH SPCA MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Clark. Ayes – Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey. RESOLVED , that the Town Board does hereby approve the 2005 contract with the Tompkins County SPCA for the purpose of dog control in the Town of Groton at a fee of $10,795.00. RESOLUTION #05-004 - AUTHORIZATION TO PARTICIPATE IN COOPERATIVE PURCHASING OF HIGHWAY SERVICES WITH TOMPKINS COUNTY MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Gamel. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey. RESOLVED, that the Town of Groton be hereby authorized to participate with Tompkins County in the cooperative purchasing of various highway services. RESOLUTION #05-005 - AUTHORIZE HIGHWAY SUPERINTENDENT TO PURCHASE ON STATE BID MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Sovocool. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey. RESOLVED, that the Groton Town Board does hereby authorize the Highway Superintendent to purchase oil and related products from State Contract Bids as appropriate. Town Board Meeting Page 6 January 11, 2005 RESOLUTION #05-006 - APPROVE FIRE AND AMBULANCE PROTECTION CONTRACTS MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Scheffler. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey RESOLVED, that the Town Board does hereby approve the Fire and Ambulance contracts with the Village of Groton Fire Department and Fire Protection with the McLean Fire Department. RESOLUTION #05-007 – APPROVE 2005 MUNICIPAL DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Gamel Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey RESOLVED, that the Town Board does hereby approve Gregory & Howe as Third Party Administrator for the 2005 Municipal Agreement Renewal and Policy Amendment #1 for the Drug and Alcohol Testing. This concluded the 2005 Organizational Items. MOVED by Councilman Scheffler, seconded by Councilman Sovocool, to approve the minutes of the December 14, 2004 meeting as presented. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Clark, Morey. Abstain - Gamel MOVED by Councilman Clark, seconded by Councilman Sovocool, to approve the minutes of the December 27, 2004 special meeting as presented. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey. 2004 Abstract 14 - General Fund Claim Numbers 416-432 of the in the amount of $13,036.00 were presented for audit. MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Sovocool, to approve the 2004 Abstract 14 General Bills for payment. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey. 2004 Abstract 13 - General Fund Claim Numbers 414-415 of the in the amount of $5,276.50 were presented for audit. MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Scheffler, to approve the 2004 Abstract 13 General Bills for payment. Town Board Meeting Page 7 January 11, 2005 Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey. 2005 Abstract 1 - General Fund Claim Numbers 1-7 of the in the amount of $36,159.57 were presented for audit. MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Gamel, to approve the 2005 Abstract 1 General Bills for payment. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey. 2004 Abstract 14 - Highway Fund Claim Numbers 250-274 of the in the amount of $32,082.74 were presented for audit. MOVED by Supervisor Morey seconded by Councilman Scheffler, to approve the 2004 Abstract 14 Highway Bills for payment. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey. 2005 Abstract 1 - Highway Fund Claim Numbers 1-2 of the in the amount of $27,800.27 were presented for audit. MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Sovocool, to approve the Highway Bills for payment. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey. Supervisor Morey offered privilege of the floor. No one wished to speak at this time. Monthly Reports: Elizabeth Brennan, Bookkeeper/Highway Clerk – Submitted he monthly reports for the Board’s review and had transfers to request for the 2004 Budget. RESOLUTION #05-008 – 2004 BUDGET TRANSFERS – GENERAL FUND TOWN WIDE. MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Gamel Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey RESOLVED , that the Town Board does hereby approve the following 2004 Budget transfers: General Fund Town Wide: From: Police Personnel, A3120.1……………………..$36.50 To: Police Contractual A3120.4………………….….36.50 From: Building Repair, A 1620.42………………….$2995.45 To: Buildings Contractual, A1620.4……………….2995.45 Town Board Meeting Page 8 January 11, 2005 From: Youth Coordinator, A7320.41…………….…$1,719.52 To: Youth Programs, A7320.4…………………….1,719.52 From: Contingency, A1990.4…………………..…..$2,756.45 From: Retirement, A9010.8………………………...….519.25 To: Health Insurance, A9060.8……………………3,275.70 From: Contingency, A1990.4……………………….$1,701.08 To: Justice, Contractual, A1110.4…………………...145.45 To: Justice Court Clerk, A1110.13…………………...57.76 To: Supervisor’s Bookkeeper, A1220.12……….….1497.87 RESOLUTION 05-009 – 2004 BUDGET TRANSFERS – GENERAL FUND PART TOWN MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Sovocool Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey RESOLVED, that the Town Board does hereby approve the following 2004 Budget transfers: General Fund Part Town: From: Contingency, B1990.4……………………….$1,258.46 To: Zoning Contractual, B8010.4…………….……...530.22 To: Planning, Deputy Clerk, B8020.12………………130.00 To: Zoning Code Enforcement, B8010.1…………….367.94 To: Zoning, Deputy Clerk, B8010.12…………......….131.32 To: Social Security, B9030.8…………………………..98.98 RESOLUTION #05-010 – 2004 BUDGET TRANSFERS – HIGHWAY FUND TOWN WIDE MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Scheffler Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey RESOLVED, that the Town Board does hereby approve the following 2004 Budget transfers: Highway Fund Town Wide: From: Retirement, DA 9010.8……………………….$3178.37 To: Health Insurance, DA9060.8……………….…..3178.37 Gary Coats, Code/Fire Enforcement Officer – We had a month with no Building Permits. We did issue Certificates of Occupancy and the total of that was a little over a half a million dollars. I did all the Motor Vehicle Repair Shop inspections and they were all done throughout the month. Two junkyard inspections were done. Ten Orders to Remedy were written. One was for Town Board Meeting Page 9 January 11, 2005 living in a home with no Certificate of Occupancy; it was half constructed. The balance went to junk cars and junk. Two were corrected and those were for junk. The property we talked about th on Peru Road, there has been no action on that. There is a court date set for that on January 19. Along with that issue, we’ll also add to that the property that these same people own on Davis Road. The Coit Property, I tried to reach the owner of that today but am having trouble reaching him. I’ll have to drop him a letter because he promised after the first of the year to get on that. Richard C. Case, Jr., Highway Superintendent – The Highway Department is dedicated to snow and ice removal at this time. I am in the process of closing the books up, working with Liz. The projects we’ve had going are still ongoing. Councilman Gamel – How far ahead are we on salt this year? Richard Case – Right where we normally are on average. The bridge project, we were working on that last week. The backfill materials are up against the headwalls for the approaches. So, my information from the County is that they will be laying the steel just as soon as it all comes in down there. So, that’s gone a long way with the mild weather that we’ve had. John Norman and A. D. Dawson, Town Justices – Submitted their year-end and monthly report for the Board’s review. Justice Norman – I’ve talked to Rick about getting the countertops fixed. As you can see we have tape on it. PUBLIC HEARING – THOMPSON UNSAFE BUILDING Supervisor Morey opened the Public Hearing at 8:00 PM. Clerk Scheffler read the notice of public hearing as it appeared in the Town’s official paper, The Groton Independent, on January 5, 2005. Martin Shapiro – I am an attorney from Ithaca, New York. I reside at 1962 Elmira Road, Newfield, New York and I’m here representing the Thompsons. Let me start out by saying that I appreciate the situation very well. In the last week or so Mr. Thompson has retained the services of Brian Buttner, Applied Design Research Associates, an architect to take a look at the structure in question. He has noticed a number of deficiencies and it’s Mr. Thompson’s intention to bring the structure up to code. Now, we’ve had a preliminary review of the structure by Mr. Buttner and it is, in fact, economically feasible to do so. So, at this point I understand the process that you’re in. I’d like to tell you that the Thompsons do intend to bring the structure up to code at the earliest opportunity. It’s a little difficult in the winter but we’ll start as soon as possible. Mr. Buttner is here to answer any questions you might have in that regard and to that extent I would ask that the Town Board hold off any process with respect to demolition of this structure or requiring Mr. Thompson to do that. We would like to work very closely with Mr. Coats, your Code Enforcement Officer. Hopefully we can come up with some sort of schedule to let you know how fast everything is going to be done. The purpose here is that Mr. Thompson believes that it is more reasonable for him to bring the structure up to code than it is to tear it down and build a new structure from scratch. This will be bringing it up to code. That’s all the deficiencies that Mr. Coats noted, all the items that Mr. Buttner has noted and see to it in a very orderly and expeditious manner. If you have any questions about the intentions of the Town Board Meeting Page 10 January 11, 2005 Thompsons, you can direct them to me. If you have any questions in respect to the process itself, Mr. Buttner is here to answer any questions that you have in that regard. The purpose of my appearance is simply to ask your forbearance for a short period of time to get a plan together and then commence fixing all the problems. Brian Buttner – I’m a registered architect in the State of New York. My office is in the Village of Freeville. I operate under the firm name of Applied Design Research Associates. I’ve been in private practice for sixteen years. I’ve been in institutional practice since 1980 in the area, when I was brought to the area by Cornell University. I was just recently contacted by Mr. Thompson. I did look at the property last week. I also received the report by Mr. Coats, so I’ve had the opportunity to look at that as well. I do not have any objections to the report. It was very thorough. I took additional pictures myself and have noted even some additional items. But I believe in the spirit of how things can be remedied and mitigated that we can provide a plan and set of specifications that will satisfy the Code Officer that these corrections can be made for less money than if this structure were removed and had to rebuilt as a new structure. At this point in time when I did a preliminary review of the structure, it is approximately 24 feet by 42 feet, I believe, whereas a comparable building, even a garage in this day and age, is roughly $28.00 a square foot and it would be almost $30,000 to replace that garage. Anybody who’s built a garage on the Board knows that you can’t build a garage for $10,000 anymore. So, we’re looking at the feasibility of being able to repair that building for less money than it would take to build a new garage. It is my intention to work very closely with Mr. Coats’ office so that the documents would not only be prepared by me, but as a registered architect would be sealed by me such that they would meet also with his expectations and acceptance and then the project will be inspected on a regular basis by his office, presuming himself, so that Mr. Thompson can receive guidance all along the way that the repairs are going to be made in the proper manner. Supervisor Morey – Our biggest concern, Brian, is safety, okay? We don’t want anybody to get hurt or any neighbors to get hurt or anything else. In your professional experience is that going to stay up or is it going to collapse if we have a heavy snow or a hard rain? Mr. Buttner – Obviously the weather that we have around here, like any place else, can really play havoc with us. There are certainly structurally sound buildings right now where if we got eighteen to twenty inches of snow in a ten-hour period would have potential problems. But I would impress upon the Board that this structure was actually installed three years ago. It isn’t anything that aesthetically people necessarily enjoy looking at but the reality is that it withstood two severe winters in the past and has not fallen down. There are things that we definitely need to improve in there, a lot of it operational issues like reinforcing headers, making the structure air and water tight from a standpoint of new maintenance code. One of the things that I did want to do, it is my understanding of the codes and the way they evolved that since this project was started, I think, in July of 2002, that it may have originally been started under the older code. It would stand to reason then that the evaluation of this building with regard to structural integrity and safety would still fall back upon that old code if repairs were being made. However, as everyone here is aware, and I’m sure Mr. Coats is, that the new maintenance code didn’t exist prior to January of 2003 so there are additional items in the maintenance code which will also come into play with regard to getting this building enclosed and watertight so that water cannot penetrate the structure and get into areas that aren’t pressure treated or otherwise protected. We will address all those issues to the satisfaction of the codes department and set up a program for Mr. Thompson to adequately correct and remedy so that this project will be actually watertight as well as safe to have him store his vehicles and other personal property. Do I think it’s going to fall down in the next month or two because of some snow? I do not. The last few years have Town Board Meeting Page 11 January 11, 2005 proven that. Do I think that this structure in the long term will ever comply to any code that we know of? No. I think that in the defense of Mr. Thompson, he did acquire this garage from some other location. At one time it was put up and was probably in code compliance in some other jurisdiction. He bought used goods and when he transferred it to this location he did not know the condition of the building relative to where it was before. So, it was like buying a used car. You don’t necessarily know what’s under the hood till you drive it home and have it for a month or two. But he has every intention on making good on repairing this building so it will be safe for him and his family and at the same time, not pose a danger to anybody else. Attorney Monty – What’s the estimated timeframe on….? Mr. Buttner – Personally, since I just got involved in the project and do have a few other projects for January, it is my desire to get my program of documents and corrections ready to go by the end of January. Now obviously that puts us into the January, February, early March area and as you all know around here is probably the worst time of the year to build. The good part of it is that the majority of the recommendations that I will be making will be interior so once they pull the cars out a lot of work can be done inside the envelope of the building. In that way weather is not going to be a really big factor. Supervisor Morey – Will everything be taken out of the garage until it gets a CO? Mr. Buttner – That’s not my call. That’s Mr. Coats’ call. Obviously Mr. Thompson has been using it for a period of years and there would be a lot of stuff outside and run the risk of being blown away, I guess during the wintertime. As far as moving the vehicles out and making the basic part of the building accessible for the repairs, I would say that probably two thirds of that stuff will have to be moved and moved outside during that time period. Other than two dogs that reside in there there’s just two vehicles and a shop area in the back and I think some of those cabinets are built in. We will be recommending that the small loft space with storage up above will be basically taken apart and rebuilt to the code standards. But, again, I do not believe that this building is going to fall down this winter, that in the course of the next couple of months when the renovations are done, that it will not fall down anywhere, that it would probably impose an additional burden upon him to have all that material out in the yard and try to have it tarped off with something while the work is being done. But that is not something I can really answer because that’s Mr. Coats’ and your jurisdiction as far as not being able to use it or even have it occupied. Mr. Shapiro – There may well come a time when there certain of the repairs are done that the question about the safety might be ameliorated, in other words it’s not like an on and off switch and it’s not a safe now and safe ten minutes later, but it will become safer and safer until it is code compliant. I think the real issue here is to make it code compliant in such a way that satisfies Mr. Coats, the Code Enforcement Officer, and make it a safe building. It’s Mr. Buttner’s desire; it’s my desire; it’s Mr. Thompson’s desire; and we expect to work very, very closely with Mr. Coats to make sure that if there are any glaring issues that need more immediate attention than others that they are prioritized to take care of those things. I would note that as an aside, Mr. Thompson has told me that many times he has been up on the roof of this building shoveling the snow off. So, for whatever proof that is that the structure is sound enough to bear his weight shoveling the snow off, it’s probably structurally sound enough to withstand another couple of months. Of course, Mr. Thompson is not my size. If I went up there, I don’t know if it would withstand my weight. Town Board Meeting Page 12 January 11, 2005 Supervisor Morey – Any questions from the Board? Councilman Sovocool – Well, just from looking at this description I don’t see how you could ever redo it to meet code. Two by two rafters that are joists on the roof and studs scabbed together and electrical not secure… Mr. Shapiro – The answer to that question is that anything can be done. That’s why the renovation costs are as high as they are. Mr. Buttner’s taking a look at the renovation costs compared to demolition and building a new structure and it’s actually more feasible by a considerable margin to renovate but it is not going to be an inexpensive renovation. You should understand that. It is going to be a very expensive renovation. So, this isn’t something that the Thompsons have decided that they can nail a couple of two by fours up there and be done with it. They’ll have to comply with the recommendations of the architect and the Code Enforcement Officer to make it code compliant and that’s going to cost thousands and thousands of dollars. Not and easy task. Councilman Scheffler – I’d like to see what your plan is sometime. Mr. Buttner – Sure. As I say I plan to undertake most of my actual detailed design work for the end of January and have at least a preliminary with drawings and a recommended course of th action by the 30 of January. At that time Mr. Thompson will actually be able to get a better estimate of the scope of cost for him. But by the end of January it is my full expectation that we will have something to show to Mr. Coats so he will know that things are underway. Councilman Gamel – I’m just concerned about the timeframe. Just so long as it gets done in a timely fashion so that it’s a safe structure and meets code, that seems to be on the right track at least. Mr. Shapiro – If it’s any assurance to the Board, the fact that Mr. Thompson has hired me and Mr. Buttner to come here tonight to go over things, it’s some assurance that they are very serious about bringing this up to code at this point and responsible. To spend the money and not have the use of the building in years doesn’t make any sense but if I spend money I want the bang for the buck now not later so there’s no advantage ……?.......as soon as possible. Councilman Gamel – I just think that once your plan is set out that there’s some kind of a timetable. Mr. Shapiro – There will be a schedule…..(not using microphone). And once we have the approval of those that will be pretty close to the starting point. Councilman Clark – I agree with that. We will wait until we can review the plan and make our judgment from that. Supervisor Morey – I have one last question. Brian, does this building meet any building codes that you know of? Mr. Buttner – No. Supervisor Morey – What about in the past? Town Board Meeting Page 13 January 11, 2005 Mr. Buttner – No. I’m not sure of the age of the building or how it came into being in its original place but I would say that it predated the building codes wherever it was. Very often, in my practice I see lots of situations where buildings go way, way, way long ago and don’t comply with anything and now because of new codes or better enforcement somebody’s taking a look at it and saying they have to do something. Mr. Buttner and Mr. Shapiro talked more about present and past codes. They also assured the Board that Mr. Thompson would have a schedule to follow on a regular basis and do the work as soon as possible. Supervisor Morey asked for comments from the public. John Anguish – I live at 358 Smith Road. You’re talking about what’s going to be done. If it had been done to start with properly we wouldn’t be going through all this. It’s an eyesore. I live up in that area. You’re talking about $30,000 to put a garage up comparable to that size. Well, it seems like an awful lot of money to me. If it had been handled properly to start with and it’s my understanding that there wasn’t a permit issued to put that building up initially so how do they get away with that? Supervisor Morey – I believe there was a building permit issued. The Certificate of Occupancy was not….. John Anguish – Well, I was told by the Zoning Officer that there wasn’t and that was Mr. Gunn, that’s what I’m getting at. But like I said, if it had been handled properly we wouldn’t be standing here tonight telling what’s going to be done for the benefit of the Thompsons or the Town of Groton or whoever. It could have been alleviated when it was initially brought in. Mark Gunn – I’d like to clear my name. That comment he made about me saying the building was never drawn down with a building permit…. Mr. Anguish – That’s what you said to me. Mr. Gunn - ……… I said not during my time as Code Enforcement Officer. I beg to differ with the price of a garage going up. I built a 30 by 40 pole barn for less than $12,000, with concrete and it meets code. I also want to make the statement that under the New York State Building Code, past and present, structures had to be built with graded lumber. Any piece of lumber that is used, weathered, cracked, holes drilled in, cut, is not structurally graded anymore. You can’t take an old building and legally reconstruct it some other place unless somebody, an architect, is going to say “that piece of lumber is structurally sound and meets the structural requirements” of say, a 2 by 4 by 8. Used lumber, unless the structure grade is still on it and it hasn’t been drilled, cut, or is weathered, does not meet that requirement. So, I want to know if the architect is going to put his name on every used stick of lumber that’s in that garage. I also want to know if the poles that are in the ground that are supporting that building, if there was no inspection done on those poles, who’s going to say they’re down below frost the way they should be? That’s all I have to say. Tyke Randall – I live at 305 West Groton Road. First of all I’d like to publicly thank Gary for having the courage to bring this to the Board and make tonight happen. He inherited the problem. It should have never happened, I agree with Mark and everybody else on that. The sad reality of it is that this garage has become pretty much a benchmark in the community and it’s a Town Board Meeting Page 14 January 11, 2005 negative benchmark in the community which pretty much makes a mockery of the zoning laws that are in effect. I keep hearing from Mr. Shapiro that it’s going to be brought up to compliance but ignorance of the zoning law should not be a defense, period. Each one use, well there are several of us in this room, that have built their own garages. They took the time to go get their building permit; they talked to the Zoning Officer to find out what things are required; and proceeded from that. They ended up with nice looking buildings that were code compliant. I guess I would have to say that being that it’s a negative benchmark in the community it would be prudent for the Board to set an example and that would be to not grant a forbearance just because that I don’t believe that after the fact that’s a band-aid fix. Everybody’s going to be watching that so that means that anybody that’s not code compliant or chose not to get a building permit or chose not to have the necessary inspections or chose to move into it prior to getting a CO, that’s okay, that’s sending the wrong message to the community and the taxpayers, period. The other argument, Mr. Buttner, I believe it is, saying that many buildings are not code compliant. That’s true but Mr. Thompson took that building from another site. It’s not on the original sight. By reassembling it on his own property that pre-empted anything to do with prior noncompliance. Allen Edwards – I live at 857 Cobb Street. Alberta Thompson is my mother. I understand they did get a building permit to begin with. It’s been three years since anything’s been said. The structure, granted, is not up to code, but it should have been taken care right from the get-go. If there were issues with it, it should have been taken care of then, not waited until three years down the road. Granted, it don’t look pretty but I bought a house on Cobb Street that for all sakes is a dump. But should it be torn down because it’s a dump or it’s not fixable? No. They didn’t go in that place and inspect it before I bought it and say it’s not code approved. It’s been three years. I think they ought to get the opportunity to bring it up to code. Just because it doesn’t look good doesn’t mean it should be torn down. My house, it’s hideous and it will probably take me 20 years to get to what I think it should be but it didn’t get torn down because it didn’t meet code when I bought it. If something as serious as a house doesn’t have to be upgraded when you buy it or whatever that should have been taken care of when it was built not three years down the road and then say, okay, now it has to come down. It should have been taken care of from day one. That’s what the Code Enforcer is for. That’s what the code is for. I think they ought to be able to get a chance to bring it up to code. If the architect says it can be brought up to code there’s no reason it shouldn’t be able to be. Supervisor Morey – Any other comments? There being no further public comments, Councilman Sovocool moved to close the Public Hearing, seconded by Councilman Game, Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey Supervisor Morey – What do you want to do? Vicki? Victoria Monty, Town Attorney – I don’t think you guys, in your notice you didn’t say you were going to take any action this evening so you can’t do that. Supervisor Morey – Okay, we’ll be taking action at the next meeting. Mr. Shapiro – Excuse me, when is your next meeting? th Supervisor Morey – February 8, 7:30 pm. Town Board Meeting Page 15 January 11, 2005 Mr. Shapiro – If I might, could I ask for some guidance? We’d like to get going on this but obviously we can’t be spending an awful lot of money if the Board is going to take an adverse position. Is there any chance that the Board might consider this at an earlier date? Attorney Monty – It’s outside of………. Supervisor Morey – Board, what do you want to do? Councilman Scheffler – That would require a special meeting wouldn’t it? Clerk Scheffler – This is part of your regular meeting. Attorney Monty – It’s just part of this meeting because it wasn’t part of your notice, there was no……. Clerk Scheffler – You can have a hearing as part of your regular meeting. Supervisor Morey - Say that again, April. Clerk Scheffler – If you have a public hearing as part of a regular meeting I am sure that you can make a decision. If you have just a public hearing at a time when you’re not having a meeting you can’t…… Attorney Monty – I think that you have to give notice that you’re going to take action. Supervisor Morey – We’ll have a special meeting. When do you want to have it? Councilman Scheffler – Whenever. Councilman Clark – We ought to have and architect’s report before……. Other Councilmen repeated this opinion. Councilman Sovocool – They got notice in 2002 that the building wasn’t right anyways. Mr. Shapiro – Well, if you’d like to see the architect’s plans and specs before your meeting then th I think that February 8 is a reasonable time. My concern here is just that it’s expensive to provide that and all we were really asking for was some forbearance so that we could get that done. I wouldn’t want to have them spend all the time, money and effort just to find out that you’re not going to consider any forbearance but if you really feel you want to see all that and give Mr. Coats a chance to review it we’ll proceed in that direction and rely on your good faith that you’ll consider this straightforwardly. But understand that the Thompsons are going to be spending considerable money to get to that point. Attorney Monty – I think it’s reasonable to have some further proof that this is something that can be safely repaired and if you’re not going to have a report until the end of January and to th give the Board sufficient time to review it that February 8 probably is reasonable. Town Board Meeting Page 16 January 11, 2005 Supervisor Morey – Marty, it’s usually easier to get forgiveness than to get permission. I have some real concerns that Mark Gunn brought up and Tyke Randall brought up and when I asked Brian, did this meet any codes that he knew of and he said no, I mean, it’s questionable whether it’s going to stand up under a heavy wind storm. So, I have some real concerns and I’d like to find out if he does have any solutions how easy it would be. Mr. Shapiro – Okay, fair enough. We’ll try to be sure that you have that a week in advance of th your February 8 meeting. Would you like us to appear that night? Supervisor Morey – That would be up to you. Mr. Shapiro – Thank you very much. Monthly Reports Continued: April L. Scheffler, Town Clerk/Tax Collector – Submitted her monthly report and 2004 year- end report. The Town Clerks met on Jan. 3 to discuss the County’s idea of taking over tax collection. We are all very much against this idea for a variety of reasons. Kathy Valentino, Don Barber and Steve Farkas were going to attend the County Legislature meeting on Jan. 4 to express to the Legislature that they were against the idea. I haven’t heard yet the results of that th meeting. The Municipal Official Meeting has the topic on their agenda for the 19 so hopefully we will have some more information available then and have an idea what our next move should be. The Clerks have also drafted a letter concerning our position on the centralization of voting which will be going to the County Legislature, our also our state and federal representatives. I have provided you each with a copy of that. We had a letter from the State saying that they are establishing the school speed zone for the Cassavant School in McLean as well as lowering the speed limit within the hamlet from 35 to 30 mph. The ad for the enumerator was in the Shopper today. I had a call on it today. One question asked was if there was an application and since we are looking for an independent contractor, I said no, but suggested that the person submit a letter expressing their interest. Another ad that will be appearing next week, I am doing jointly with the Village, and this is for the registration of wild animals and snakes, which we are now required to do and report to emergency services, police agencies and the State. We have not yet received the bill for the new computers. The final cost ended up being a little more than what I told you last time because, on Glenn’s recommendation, we ordered the Windows XP Professional Edition instead of the Home Edition. If we take everything left in our Town Clerk accounts we have more than enough to cover it so I don’t know if you want to carry that money over or what to pay for that. I also wanted to ask about the money from the A3310.4R for the spay/neuter program from the reserve account, if we were going to carry that over because it was from the reserve account. Town Board Meeting Page 17 January 11, 2005 Supervisor Morey – Yes. Victoria Monty, Town Attorney – I don’t have anything to report. I did have one question; I think it was tabled last month on the dog enumerator issue. I’ve kind of been waiting on whether we’re going to do a contract on that. Supervisor Morey – No, she’s interviewing right now. Attorney Monty – So, relative to a contract should I be drafting one? Supervisor Morey – I think you did. Attorney Monty – Well, we have a very rough one with some blanks in it. I guess one of the things we were waiting on is pay. It was replied that the Board had discussed $2.00 a dog plus mileage, which could be negotiatble. Councilman Donald Scheffler, as Recreation Coordinator – I don’t have an actual report. th Our Winterfest is scheduled for February 19 at the Elementary School. Stop up and bring your sleds. RESOLUTION #05-11 – COURT CLERK TO ATTEND ASSOCIATION OF TOWNS CONFERENCE MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Sovocool Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey RESOLVED , that the Town Board hereby approves the payment of expenses for the Court Clerk, Margaret Palmer, to attend the 2005 New York State Association of Towns Conference in New York City, in February. Announcements:  Planning Board Meeting – January 20, 7:30pm – discussing cell tower and candle shop  Association of Towns Annual Conference – February 20-23 in NYC  New York State Police – letter indicating that they have been having more patrols on the McLean-Cortland Road  Tompkins County Grant Award – grant written by Rosemarie Tucker for the Groton nd Business Association 2 Annual Recognition Award to be awarded posthumously to Welthea Marsh  Tompkins County Municipal Officials Meeting – January 18 – 6:00pm  McLean Community Council - January 12, 7:00pm at Fire Department  Groton Business Association – January 19, 6:00pm at Groton Hotel Town Board Meeting Page 18 January 11, 2005 There being no further business, Councilman Sovocool moved to adjourn, seconded by Councilman Scheffler, at 8:45pm. Unanimous. April L. Scheffler Town Clerk