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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-06-10 TOWN OF GROTON - MINUTES OF TOWN BOARD MEETING TUESDAY, JUNE 10, 2008 AT 7:30 PM PUBLIC HEARING -PROPOSED LOCAL LAW #4 FOR 2008 AT 8:00 PM THE TOWN HALL, 101 CONGER BOULEVARD Those present: Glenn E. Morey, Supervisor Ellard L. Sovocool, Councilman Donald F. Scheffler, Councilman Richard B. Gamel, Councilman Sheldon C. Clark, Councilman Victoria Monty, Attorney for the Town Also present: John Norman, Gary Coats, Elizabeth Brennan, Richard C. Case, Jr., Matt Cooper, April Scheffler. MOVED by Councilman Gamel, seconded by Councilman Sovocool, to approve the minutes of the May 13, 2007 meeting as presented. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey. MOVED by Councilman Sovocool, seconded by Councilman Gamel to approve the minutes for the May 20 and May 27, 2008 workshops for zoning code review Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey Claim Numbers 159-186 of the General Fund in the amount of$19,431.62 were presented for audit. MOVED by Councilman Scheffler, seconded by Councilman Clark, to approve the General Bills for payment. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey. Claim Numbers 91-108 of the Highway Fund in the amount of$68,873.95 were presented for audit. MOVED by Councilman Sovocool, seconded by Councilman Scheffler, 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. Town Board Minutes Page 2 June 10, 2008 Monthly Reports: Elizabeth Brennan, Bookkeeper/Highway Clerk - Presented monthly reports for the Board's review. The auditor will be coming at the end of the month. Gary Coats, Code/Fire Enforcement Officer - Reported that it had been really busy. They had been going after expired building permits back several years and are getting them brought up to date and issuing certificates of completion. The Deputy Clerk has helped him clean up a lot of things and has organized things above and beyond what he had asked her to do, which he was very happy about. Richard C. Case, Jr., Highway Superintendent - First of all, I'd like to thank the Board for taking the time to go on the highway tour. Since the tour, the final blacktop has been applied to Bird Cemetery Road and the dead-end section of Bossard Road. Presently roadside mowing is taking place daily. One crew is working on the shoulders on Elm Street. We're going to go from the Village line to NYS Route 222. As second crew is cutting brush and trees on Lick Street, near Carey's Farm and then they are going to move to Stevens Road from Lick Street to Salt Road. The shop is on schedule for heavy duty inspections and repairs. At this time I'd like request a Board resolution to purchase a Chevrolet dump truck with plow to replace the current 1994 truck as provided for in the 2008 budget. RESOLUTION#08-033 -PURCHASE 1-TON CHEVROLET DUMP TRUCK WITH PLOW MOVED by Super, seconded by Councilman Clark Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves the purchase of a new Chevrolet 3500, heavy duty, one-tone dump truck with plow on NYSOGS bid, contract#PC83529 in the amount of$37,111.21. April L. Scheffler,RMC, Town Clerk/Tax Collector-You have my monthly report as well as the monthly report from Country Acres Pet Services. I continue to be very pleased with the service we are receiving from them. I also gave you a pamphlet on tax collection. I attended a Tompkins County Town Clerks meeting today that was also attended by Mary Mills from County Assessment and Helen Beach from County Finance. BAS software company was there to demonstrate their tax collection program. The County has applied for and received a grant, to conduct a study on having a centralized database for tax collection, which is briefly explained in the pamphlet. The grant will also pay for the software for this data base. They have assured us that this is not an attempt by the County to take over tax collection, but to organize, streamline, and make more available the information that we already share to one degree or another and at the same time, have windows based programming that will do the job that we all want it to do. As it is now, the collectors, Assessment and Finance all have some of the information but none of us has access to it all. We will be having more meetings and I will continue to keep you informed. Town Board Minutes Page 3 June 10, 2008 The Clerk's Office has been very busy lately with regular clerk things as well as zoning and building permits. Debby has proven to be a real asset, not only to me but also to Gary. She is capable of running the office when I am not there, takes the initiative to deal with projects independently, tactfully handles difficult customers and has even started to get Gary organized, which is a major undertaking in itself! At this time I would like to request that you increase her wage to $12.00 an hour,which would be not quite equal to what is in the 2008 budget for deputy clerk position. The NYS History Conference that Rosemarie and I attended was three days of intense history lessons from early morning until evening. The first day especially, was very informative for us as it explored many ways that we could use our historical records for educational purposes with both the public and the school. Among the other classes we attended was one on the West Point Foundry, where our cemetery cannon was made. We left the conference at 1:30 on Saturday and began our search for Groton Bridges. The bridge near Saratoga Springs that I photographed in 2005 has been removed and replaced with a new bridge. At Fort Edward my brother took us on a tour of 3 Groton Bridges located over the Champlain Canal. These bridges seem to be maintained by the canal system and are in very good repair. After spending the night with my sister, she took us out to the bridges near her. We photographed 2 that are still standing, one of which has a wooden deck. Sadly, 3 other Groton Bridges in the area have been replaced. On the way home, we took a little detour and found another Groton Bridge west of Canajoharie. One of the things that the history conference did for us was to make us aware that there are many unanswered questions about the Groton Bridge Company and that we have a lot of research to do to find out it's history and the people who built these bridges. We are not really sure where this project will lead us, but right now, we realize that these bridges are disappearing and getting them photographed is what we need to do first. We'd also like to thank you for your interest and support. RESOLUTION #08-034 -APPROVE 2008 HUMAN SERVICES CONTRACT MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Sovocool Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves the 2008 contract with Tompkins County Human Services Coalition. RESOLUTION#08-035 -APPROVE PAY INCREASE FOR DEBORAH LANE MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Scheffler Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves an increase in pay for Deborah Lane to $12.00 per hour beginning with the next pay period. Victoria Monty, Attorney for the Town - With respect to the Workers Comp issue, I'm still working with the Association of Towns to try and find a definitive answer. The Town Clerk of Locke indicates that they do not have a local law. Their research indicated that the State does Town Board Minutes Page 4 June 10, 2008 not require Workers Comp to be in place so they did not feel it was necessary to have a local law. I am not sure they are correct in that assertion. Hopefully I'll have some additional information from the person I am working with at the Association of Towns. Supervisor Morey-We can't be the only town in the State that has this issue. Attorney Monty - I don't believe we are either. Supervisor Morey- I can't see where it's a law, maybe a Department of Labor requirement Clerk Scheffler asked the Code Enforcement Officer if he had given the attorney the pamphlet that they had from the State regarding this. He said he would provide her with that. John Norman, Town Justice - Provided the Board with the monthly reports from the Town Court office. He said things had been pretty busy. RESOLUTION#08-036 - A. D. DAWSON TO ATTEND CONFERENCE MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Gamel Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves the payment of expenses for A. D. Dawson, Town Justice, to attend the Annual Magistrates Conference in Niagara Falls, NY on September 21-24, 2008. RESOLUTION #08-037 - COURT PERSONNEL TO ATTEND TELECONFERENCE MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Scheffler Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves the payment of expenses for the Court personnel to attend a teleconference on probation on June 26, 2008 at Ithaca,NY. Mr. Coats explained that while he was on vacation and George Senter was covering for him, a building permit was mistakenly issued to a party who actually lived in the Village. Mr. Coats had spoken to the party and told them that they would have to apply to the Village. RESOLUTION#08-038 - REFUND BUILDING PERMIT FEES TO NICHOLE & ROBERT HUNT MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Sovocool Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves refunding building permit fees in the amount of$68.00 to Nichole and Robert Hunt, 111 Walpole Road. Town Board Minutes Page 5 June 10, 2008 A short discussion took place concerning the mileage allowance, which is currently set at 44- cents per mile. RESOLUTION#08-039 -RAISE GAS MILEAGE ALLOWANCE TO 50-CENTS PER MILE MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Clark Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves raising the gas mileage allowance to 50- cents per mile for Town employees using their personal vehicles for Town business. RESOLUTION#08-040 - SET WORK SESSION FOR CODE REVIEW MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Gamel Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby sets work sessions for Tuesday, June 17 and Tuesday June 24, 2008 for the Town Board, the Code Enforcement Officer and the Town Clerk to continue review of the draft zoning code. Announcements: ➢ Zoning Board of Appeals - June 18 - 7:00 PM ➢ Planning Board- June 19th - 7:30 PM ➢ Attorney General Community Outreach Meeting - Cornell Cooperative Extension - June 18 - 11:00 AM ➢ Annual Audit - June 23 PUBLIC HEARING-PROPOSED LOCAL LAW#4 FOR THE YEAR 2008 Supervisor Morey opened the Public Hearing at 8:00 PM. The Town Clerk read the public notice as it appeared in the Town's legal paper, the Groton Independent, on June 4, 2008. Written comments were received from Judith Zahas concerning the following sections of the proposed law: b) Any person who observes a dog in violation of this Local Law may file a complaint, under oath, with a Town-designated Dog Control Officer or Agency specifying the nature of the violation, the date thereof, a description of the dog, the location of the violation and the name and residence, if known, of the owner of such dog. Such complaint may serve as the basis for enforcing the provisions of this Local Law. c) Upon receipt by the Town-designated Dog Control Officer or Agency of any such complaint, that Officer or Agency shall issue an appearance ticket to the alleged owner of the dog to appear before the Groton Town Court at a date and time specified. Town Board Minutes Page 6 June 10, 2008 Ms. Zahas' comments follow: "I would like to suggest that the board add a section for a first time warning, for no one wants to start problems with their neighbors by signing an appearance ticket. Signing a complaint with an appearance ticket and or a fine can start major problems with neighbors. I would think a mailed notice from the town with reference to the law would be a better way to start, And no names given with first notice. I do understand this could get out of hand with people just complaining to complain. My suggestion to slow something like this from happening would be to have the person complaining appear at the Town Clerk and request a formal letter be sent to the neighbor. The letter could be nothing more than a copy of the law with problem underlined. The complaining party would need to pay the cost of materials used to send the post. Maybe $5.00 would cover it all. I feel that most people in the Town know there is a law about dogs, but have no idea what it entails. In town most people know that their dogs should not be barkers and kept on their one property but in the country it seems most do not feel it is important to stop the barking and limit their wondering. When you have new neighbors one really does not want to start major problems. Most people really get offended when a knock on the door tells them they are not good neighbors and really more angry if it is a ticket. Better to have a warning from the town then from one neighbor." Clerk Scheffler explained that she was not going to start taking complaints and writing letters. This is the job of the Dog Control Officer. She also explained that generally the DCO did a"talk to owner" either in person or by telephone. If that did not resolve the situation, then the complainant would need to sign a complaint and a ticket would be issued. The Clerk felt that Ms. Zahas did have a valid suggestion but that it was already the procedure that was followed by the Dog Control Officer. Discussion took place about possibly changing the word"shall" to "may" in section (c) above so that the DCO would not have to issue a ticket on a complaint. It was decided to leave the wording as it was because once a complaint is signed, a ticket does need to be issued. Initially, when a person calls the DCO with a problem, they are not required to submit a signed complaint. A signed complaint is only required after other avenues to solve the problem have been exhausted. Changing the wording would create a significant change to the intent of the law, which would require resubmitting it to the Board and holding another public hearing and the Board did not wish to create a situation that would require that. Consensus was to leave the wording as presented. There were no further comments or discussion. Supervisor Morey moved to close the Public Hearing and return to Regular Session, seconded by Councilman Scheffler, at 8:18 PM. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey Town Board Minutes Page 7 June 10, 2008 RESOLUTION #08-041 - LOCAL LAW#4 FOR THE YEAR 2008 MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Sovocool ROLL CALL VOTE AS FOLLOWS: Glenn E. Morey, Supervisor Aye Ellard L. Sovocool, Councilman Aye Donald F. Scheffler, Councilman Aye Richard B. Gamel, Councilman .Aye Sheldon C. Clark, Councilman Aye RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby adopts Local Law #4 for the Year 2008 relating to the control of dogs within the Town of Groton. AND THEREFORE,be it enacted by the Town Board of the Town of Groton as follows: Section 1. Purpose The purpose of this Local Law is to promote the public health, safety and welfare of the Town of Groton, including the protection and preservation of property within the Town and its inhabitants and of the peace and good order therein, by regulating and controlling the activities of dogs within the Town and providing for the enforcement thereof. Section 2. Authority This Local Law is adopted pursuant to Article 7 of the Agriculture and Markets Law of the State of New York. Section 3. Title The title of this Local Law shall be, "Dog Control Law of the Town of Groton." Section 4. Definition of Terms As used in this Local Law, the following words shall have the following respective meanings: a) Agriculture and Markets Law. The Agriculture and Markets Law of the State of New York in effect as of the effective date of this Local Law, as amended by this Local Law and as amended thereafter. b) Dog. Dog shall mean male and female, licensed and unlicensed, members of the species Canis familiaris. c) Owner. The party purchasing the license, unless the dog is or has been lost, and such loss has been reported to the proper authorities and a reasonable search has been made. If a dog is not licensed, the term of"owner" shall designate and cover any person or persons, firm, association or corporation who or which at any time owns or has custody or control of, harbors, or is otherwise responsible for any animal which is kept, brought or comes within the Town. Any person owning or harboring a dog for a period of one (1) week prior to the Town Board Minutes Page 8 June 10, 2008 filing of any complaint charging a violation of this Local Law shall be held and deemed to be the owner of such dog for the purpose of this Local Law. In the event any dog found to be in violation of this Local Law shall be owned by a minor (under 18 years of age), the head of the household in which said minor resides shall be deemed to have custody and control of said dog and shall be responsible for any acts of said dog and violation of this Local Law. d) Town. Shall designate the area within the corporate limits of the Town of Groton. e) Harbor. To provide food or shelter to any dog. Section 5. Prohibited Acts It shall be unlawful for any owner of any dog in the Town to permit or allow such dog to: a) Not to be restrained by an adequate collar and leash unless it is accompanied by its owner or a responsible person able to control it by command,when not on the property of the owner. b) Engage in habitual loud howling, barking, crying or whining or conducts itself in such a manner so as to unreasonably and habitually annoy and/or disturb any person other than the owner of such dog. c) Cause damage or destruction to property or defecates, urinates or digs or otherwise commits a nuisance other than on the property of the owner of such dog. d) Chase, jump upon or at, or otherwise harass any person in such a manner as to reasonably cause intimidation or fear or to put such person in reasonable apprehension of bodily harm or injury. e) Chase, run alongside of, bark at or otherwise harasses any motor vehicle, motorcycle, bicycle, carriage or any other vehicle or device used by persons for travel or any riders or occupants thereof while said vehicle or device is on a public highway or private property other than property of the owner of said dog. For purposes of this section, a horse or other animal shall be considered a vehicle or device. f) Not wear a valid and current New York State dog license while off of the property of the owner of said dog,whether or not restrained by an adequate collar or leash. g) Be unlicensed at the age of four (4) months or older, or be unlicensed due to failure to renew a dog license pursuant to Section 9 of this law. Establishment of the fact or facts that a dog has committed any of the acts prohibited by Section 5 of this Local Law shall be presumptive evidence against the owner or harborer of such dog that he/she has failed to properly confine, leash or control his/her dog. Section 6. Enforcement/Appearance Ticket Any person or persons, who are or may be lawfully authorized by the Town, shall, and all peace officers may, administer and enforce the provisions of this Local Law, and for such purpose shall have the authority to issue appearance tickets. Town Board Minutes Page 9 June 10, 2008 Section 7. Seizure, Impoundment,Redemption and Adoption a) Any dog found in violation of any of the provisions of Section 5 of this Local Law may be seized pursuant to the provisions of Section 118 of the Agriculture and Markets Law. b) Every dog seized shall be properly cared for, sheltered, fed and watered for the redemption periods set forth in Section 118 of the Agriculture and Markets Law. c) Seized dogs may be redeemed by producing proof of licensing and identification pursuant to the provisions of Article 7 of the Agriculture and Markets Law and by paying: i) Twenty dollars ($20.00) for the first impoundment of any dog owned by that person; ii) Thirty dollars ($30.00) for the first twenty-four hours or part thereof and three dollars ($3.00) for each additional twenty-four hours or part thereof for the second impoundment, within one year of the first impoundment, of any dog owned by that person; or iii) Fifty dollars ($50.00) for the first twenty-four hours or part thereof and three dollars ($3.00) for each additional twenty-four hours or part thereof for the third and subsequent impoundments, within one year of the first impoundment, of any dog owned by that person. d) If the owner of any unredeemed dog is known, such owner shall be required to pay the impoundment fees set forth in Subdivision (c) of this section whether or not such owner chooses to redeem his/her dog. e) Any dog unredeemed at the expiration of the appropriate redemption period shall be made available for adoption or euthanized pursuant to the provision of Section 118 of the Agriculture and Markets Law. f) No action shall be maintained against the Town or any person or persons lawfully authorized by the Town when performing duties pursuant to this Local Law to recover the possession or value of any dog, or for damages for injury or compensation for the destruction of any dog seized or destroyed pursuant to the provisions of this Local Law or the Agriculture and Markets Law. Section 8. Complaint a) Any Town-designated Dog Control Officer or Agency having reasonable cause to believe that a violation of this Local Law has been committed in his/her presence shall issue and serve upon such person an appearance ticket for such violation. b) Any person who observes a dog in violation of this Local Law may file a complaint, under oath, with a Town-designated Dog Control Officer or Agency specifying the nature of the violation, the date thereof, a description of the dog, the location of the violation and the name and residence, if known, of the owner of such dog. Such complaint may serve as the basis for enforcing the provisions of this Local Law. Town Board Minutes Page 10 June 10, 2008 c) Upon receipt by the Town-designated Dog Control Officer or Agency of any such complaint, that Officer or Agency shall issue an appearance ticket to the alleged owner of the dog to appear before the Groton Town Court at a date and time specified. Section 9. Licensing and Fees a) Pursuant to the Agriculture and Markets Law and this Local Law, all dogs in the Town must be licensed once the dog is four (4) months old and said license must be renewed annually thereafter. b) Pursuant to the provisions of Agriculture and Markets Law, Section 110, Part 4a the additional "local" fee to be collected by the Town Clerk shall be $7.50. Said fee shall be in addition to those "statutory" fees set by Agriculture and Markets Law, Section 110, Part 1 a and the "Animal Population Control" fee set by Agriculture and Markets Law, Section 110, Part 4c. c) In addition, pursuant to the Agriculture and Markets Law, Section 110, Part 4d, and this Local Law, the Town shall collect an additional $5.00 for dogs identified as unlicensed during a dog enumeration. This fee is to be collected at the time of licensing and is in addition to the statutory and local licensing fees and the Animal Population Control Fee. This fee need not be reported to the State of New York by the Town, but must be used for dog control in the municipality. Section 10. Penalties a) A plea or conviction of a violation of this Local Law shall be prosecuted pursuant to penal law, by a fine of not more than twenty-five dollars ($25), except: b) Where a person is found to have violated this Local Law within the preceding five years, the fine may be not more than fifty dollars ($50) and c) Where the person is found to have violated this Local Law 2 or more times within the preceding five years, it shall be punishable by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars ($100) or imprisonment for not more than fifteen(15) days, or both. Section 11. Separability If any section, paragraph, subdivision, clause, phrase or provision of this Local Law shall be judged invalid or held unconstitutional, it shall not affect the validity of the Local Law as a whole or any part or provision thereof other than the part so decided to be invalid or unconstitutional. Section 12. Repealer This Local Law shall supersede all prior Local Laws, ordinances, rules and regulations relative to the control, licensing and fee schedules of dogs within the Town and they shall be, upon the effectiveness of this Local Law,null and void. Town Board Minutes Page 11 June 10, 2008 Section 13. Effective Date This Local Law shall take effect immediately upon filing with the Secretary of State. There being no further business, Councilman Sovocool moved to adjourn, seconded by Councilman Scheffler, at 8:23 PM. Unanimous. April L. Scheffler, RMC Town Clerk