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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-03-2010 TOWN OF GROTON - MINUTES OF TOWN BOARD MEETING TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2010 - THE TOWN HALL, 101 CONGER BOULEVARD PUBLIC HEARING ON 2011 PRELIMINARY BUDGET AT 7:30 PM PUBLIC HEARING ON 2011 FIRE & AMBULANCE CONTRACT PUBLIC HEARING ON LOCAL LAW ENTITLED "LICENSING, IDENTIFICATION AND CONTROL OF DOGS IN THE TOWN OF GROTON" AT 8:00 PM Those present: Glenn E. Morey, Supervisor Ellard L. Sovocool, Councilman Donald F. Scheffler, Councilman Richard B. Gamel, Councilman Sheldon C. Clark, Councilman Fran Casullo, Attorney for the Town Also present: Sue Bennett, Joe Bennett, Donna Simons, Steve Simons, Robin Cargian, Bert Scott, Jr., Arnold Scott, Amanda Scott, Tracey Brant, Gary Coats, Richard C. Case, Jr., April Scheffler. MOVED by Councilman Sovocool, seconded by Councilman Scheffler, to approve the minutes of the October 12, 2010 Town Board Meeting as presented. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey. MOVED by Councilman Scheffler, seconded by Councilman Gamel, to approve the minutes of the October 19, 2010 Public Hearing on the Town of Groton Land Use & Development Code as presented. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey Claim Numbers 302-330 of the General Fund in the amount of $9,976.40 were presented for audit. MOVED by Councilman Gamel, seconded by Councilman Sovocool, to approve the General Bills for payment. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey. Claim Numbers 193-206 of the Highway Fund in the amount of $67,068.06 were presented for audit. MOVED by Councilman Clark, seconded by Councilman Scheffler, to approve the Highway Bills for payment. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey. Town Board Minutes Page 2 November 3, 2010 Supervisor Morey moved to open the Public Hearing, seconded by Councilman Scheffler, at 7:33 pm. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey PUBLIC HEARING ON THE 2011 PRELIMINARY BUDGET The Public Notice for the Public Hearing on the 2011 Preliminary Budget and the 2011 Fire and Ambulance Contracts was read by the Town Clerk. Supervisor Morey - To be perfectly honest with everyone, this is the hardest budget I've worked on in the last 20 years in public service. This year's budget will stay the same as it was in 2010. This is a very tight budget and the Board and department heads have worked very hard to keep their needs to a minimum. Some of the increases we have to contend with are the fire and ambulance, retirement, insurance and our youth services. One good note is that our health insurance will be going down because we became a member of the Tompkins County Health Consortium. During our final review, looking for ways to cut the budget, we looked for ways to ease the cost and increase efficiency. The line items that were identified were items that would severely affect the future of the Town of Groton. This year we added additional money to the youth services program to adjust for cuts from the County. This budget is very tight and I don't think anybody on the Board is very happy with it but we think we can stand behind it. We had to make extreme decisions and what is presented is before you. One of the most difficult decisions was on raises and I have to say that everybody did get a raise except the Board and the Town Supervisor did not receive a raise. From the budget, we will be raising $1,353,869.00 in taxes, which equals $6.18 a thousand, which is the exact same thing that we had last year. Are there any comments? Steve Simons - I guess as far as the assessment base, have they given you any idea on how the assessment base is going to, is it going to go up or go down, because that's basically what our taxes are based on. Our tax rate may remain the same but if the assessment goes up the taxes will go up. Supervisor Morey - Well, you should have gotten a notice already about your assessment. Steve Simons - I mean overall, have they given you any idea? Supervisor Morey - Yes, it went from $410,685,000 to $416,000,000 so that was a raise of $6,000,000 and I think that was due to all the new houses that have come in. Steve Simons - Well, that and everybody else's assessment going up. So, in all honesty, our taxes will go up 2....(not using microphone) based on assessment. I guess the second question is fire and ambulance, did they increase? Supervisor Morey - Yes, we'll discuss that in the next public hearing. It went up $5,000. Supervisor Morey moved to close the Public Hearing on the 2011 Preliminary Budget, seconded by Councilman Scheffler, at 7:38 pm. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey Town Board Minutes Page 3 November 3, 2010 Supervisor Morey moved to open the Public Hearing on the 2011 Fire and Ambulance Contracts, seconded by Councilman Gamel, at 7:38 pm. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey PUBLIC HEARING ON 2011 FIRE AND AMBULANCE CONTRACTS Supervisor Morey - The ambulance went from $96,000 up to $101,000. That's a little less than 5%, about 4.9%. The fire department went up 5% from $100,000 to $105,000. The reason why is the requirements that the State is putting on the fire department, the equipment, the training, things like that that went up this past year. Robin Cargian - In the ambulance budget, I was wondering if the Town would consider doing some sort of sponsorship of the volunteers, trying to encourage volunteers to come on board. I know that's probably one of the major issues that they're facing right now and I know the Village is struggling to try to figure out how to possibly get people to run ambulance calls. Instead of out and out paying someone would there be a way of saying to the fire department, can we match, or some sort of a benefit to say, okay if you run a certain number of calls, that you would kick in some kind of monetary fund for each individual that's willing to do that? Supervisor Morey - Are you looking for a donation or are you speaking on behalf of the fire department? Robin Cargian - I'm speaking on behalf of the fire department, looking at the problem that they're having and particularly the ambulance. We know that the need of paramedics is going to increase as the baby boomers get older and they're trying to stay home. Those are national figures. I checked out the Federal employment numbers and they said it's just going to increase. The State could at some point in time tell us that we're no longer going to have a basic ambulance; you're going to have to have advanced life support. Supervisor Morey - That's the issue their dealing with right now. Councilman Gamel - That's the issue. They're going to have to, I can't foresee it not being paid. I just wonder, I understand the idea, but I wonder if that's really paying them. Robin Cargian - It's at least paying for their training. I've looked at the information. I'm not sure how the Village is going to get around Councilman Gamel - The fire department pays for their training now, don't they? Robin Cargian - Re-certification at least takes 72 hours to keep your ALS card, the continuing medical education that you have to do to just keep the card. So, once they're trained, and they're on their own, that's two weeks and they may not have two weeks of vacation time coming to them to just do that training. Supervisor Morey - It's open for discussion. The Village of Groton is going to create a committee to oversee the fire department and things like that. What he's going to be doing is having one representative from the Town Board, and one representative from Town Board Minutes Page 4 November 3, 2010 the Village at large and the Town at large. So, he's supposed to have that done within the month and there's some issues that we need to deal with. So, we'll deal with that then. Robin Cargian - If they are going to go paid, I would just like the Board to know that I can do medical billing. I'm trained in that, if that's some kind of bargaining chip that you guys can use. I know what I would need, a computer, there's a bunch of software that would be needed, code books and all that. I know what I would need to do and the amount of calls that they take in, it would be no problem. I know that's a service they would have to pay for. If that's something you guys can work out, I would be happy to do that. Supervisor Morey moved to close the Public Hearing on the 2011 Fire and Ambulance Contracts, seconded by Councilman Scheffler, at 7:43 pm. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey RESOLUTION #10-059 - APPROVE 2011 BUDGET MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Sovocool Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves the 2011 Fiscal Year Budget as presented. RESOLUTION #10-060 - APPROVE 2011 FIRE & AMBULANCE CONTRACTS MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Scheffler Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves the 2011 Fire and Ambulance contracts between the Town of Groton, the Village of Groton and the Groton Fire and Ambulance Departments. Monthly Reports: Elizabeth Brennan, Bookkeeper/Highway Clerk - Was not present but submitted monthly reports for the Board's review and requested budget transfers. RESOLUTION #10-061 - 2010 BUDGET TRANSFER MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Scheffler Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves the following 2010 Budget Transfer: General Fund- Town Wide: From: Contingency, A1990.4 $200.00 To: Auditing, A1320.4 200.00 Town Board Minutes Page 5 November 3, 2010 RESOLUTION #10-062 - 2010 BUDGET TRANSFER MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Gamel Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves the following 2010 Budget Transfer: General Fund- Part Town: From: Contingency, B1990.4 $571 .22 To: Celebrations, Olde Home Days, B7550.4 571 .22 Gary Coats, Code/Fire Enforcement Officer - Submitted monthly reports for the Board's review. It has been exceptionally busy for the fall with at least four new homes going in before Christmas. The Jacobs issue has been settled with the junk being cleaned up and Mr. Jacobs agreeing to a yearly inspection to make sure it stays that way. The Beck issue with the signs on Route 222 will go to a bench trial on November 16. Richard C. Case, Jr., Highway Superintendent - Currently the Highway shop is dedicated to equipment changeover for snow and ice removal. Deicing sand and salt have been delivered, mixed and stored. Brush and trees are being cut on Pollack Townline Road when time and manpower allow. The Highway crew is presently truing and leveling Stevens Road, Lick Street and Sincerbeaux Road with the shoulder machine and type 7 blacktop. On October 15, bids were opened and read for a 2011 or newer wheel loader with a trade-in of a 1995 John Deere 624G wheel loader. Present was myself; Elizabeth Brennan, Recording Secretary; Pete Carr, Deputy Highway Superintendent; Dale Kinney, Mechanic; Sheldon Clerk, Councilman; Robin Cargian, Deputy Town Clerk; Chris Norman, from Tracey Road Equipment; and Jeff Koprerich, from Anderson Equipment. Three bid packages were distributed to: Tracey Road Equipment, Anderson Road Equipment and Milton Cat. The three bids were received and opened as follows: 1. Tracey Road Equipment - 2011 Kawasaki 70-AV2 Loader Total: $138,688 Trade-in: $25,000 Total: $113,668 2. Anderson Road Equipment - 2011 Komatsu WA320-6 Total: $134,300 Trade-in: $31,000 Total: $103,300 3. Milton Cat - 2010 or Newer Caterpillar 938H Total: $127,514 Trade-in: $16,000 Total: $111,514 I want it noted that we appreciate the time and effort these representatives put in to arrive at these bids. Bids were reviewed to make sure they met specifications, which Cat did not. They were reviewed by myself, the Deputy Superintendent and the Mechanic. After reviewing the three bids and the specifications for all three pieces of equipment, it is my recommendation to the Town Board to award Anderson Road Equipment with the bid as the lowest responsible bidder. Town Board Minutes Page 6 November 3, 2010 RESOLUTION #10-063 - APPROVE PURCHASE OF WHEEL 2011 KUMATSU LOADER MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Clark Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves the purchase of one new 2011 Komatsu 3%2 yard WA 320-6 Wheel Loader from Anderson Road Equipment with the trade-in of the Town's 1995 John Deere 3%2 yard 624-G Loader for a total purchase price, after trade-in, of $103,300. RESOLUTION #10-064 - PLACE REMAINDER OF DA5130.2 FUNDS IN THE CAPITAL EQUIPMENT RESERVE CD MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Sovocool Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves that the remaining funds in the DA5130.2 account, after the purchase of the Wheel Loader and Material Spreader, be placed in the Capital Equipment Reserve CD. RESOLUTION #10-065 - RENEW CONTRACT WITH TOMPKINS COUNTY DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING CONSORTIUM MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Gamel Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves the renewal of the 2011 Contract between the Town of Groton and the Tompkins County Drug and Alcohol Testing Consortium. April L. Scheffler, Town Clerk/Tax Collector - Several applications for the open Planning Board position have been received. Supervisor Morey said that they would be interviewed at the next Planning Board meeting. Other than working on the dog law, the clerks have been working on the spay/neuter program for the County. A meeting with veterinarians takes place next week. License tags have been ordered for next year. PUBLIC HEARING ON PROPOSED LOCAL LAW NO. 2 FOR THE YEAR 2010 ENTITLED "LICENSING, IDENTIFICATION, AND CONTROL OF DOGS IN THE TOWN OF GROTON" Supervisor Morey moved to open the Public Hearing, seconded by Councilman Sovocool, at 8:00 pm. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey The Town Clerk read the Public Notice. Email received from Lindsay Kemp, Country Acres Pet Services - "Town of Groton Town Board and Public Hearing attendees. I would like everyone to know that I have thoroughly read the new proposed Local Law and am in favor of the new Local Law. As the Dog Control Officer for the Town I greatly appreciate the effort made by the Town Board Minutes Page 7 November 3, 2010 Town Clerks and the Board Members to make working in the Town of Groton so efficient. Thank you, Lindsay Kemp." Letter received from Charles Rankin, Village Clerk-Treasurer/Administrator - "Confirming our conversation of earlier this morning, the Board of Trustees did review the Town of Groton proposed Local Law No. 2 of 2010 at our board meeting last evening. Overall, we have no problems with the law as proposed, but as we discussed, we would like to add the following restricted areas: 1. Property owned by the Groton Central School District 2. Memorial Park, Sykes St. 3. Any cemetery within the Village, who duly files a letter with the Town and Village stating that they do not wish to have dogs on their property. As always, let us know if we can be of further assistance. Sincerely, Charles Rankin." Clerk Scheffler- Those items were added to the final version of the law. Amanda Scott - I have two dogs of my own. I don't have a problem with the new law because I understand that New York may be trying to cut back a little bit an putting a little more responsibility onto the townships of New York, which is fine with me. What I do have a problem with, because I read most of it, is that I have one dog that is fixed and the other dog I'm working on getting her fixed. They are mainly inside and my father-in-law, who is with me tonight, takes them outside. Sometimes they like to dart out the door before I'm able get it. Now, Twilight, the one that is not fixed, goes into heat every once in awhile, I read in there someplace that the dog will be condemned to the pound if she is not caught. I always try to catch my dogs when they do get loose and ask permission of other property owners to go on their property so I can catch my animals so that way they do not get caught. The other thing is that with some of the provisions inside this law, that people have called, and I'm not just saying with my dogs, I've noticed it with other animals as well, that they will call and turn it in because dogs may be barking and if I can hear dogs barking, because I have been told by the dog warden himself, if you can hear them to call it in. But if I don't know the address, I get kind of discouraged about it because they want an address and all this other stuff. If there is a bark ordinance in this town, how is that to be upheld and not just discriminated to one or two people within the block? How is that going to help with everybody in the Town or in the Village that has dogs and that have neighbors that are anal about dogs? How is that going to protect dog owners like me? Supervisor Morey - Well, I think we're trying to deal with the extreme; the dog that is left out unattended for days at a time that is barking constantly, because a dog that is chained up usually barks more than one that is free or one that is just temporarily on a chain or leash. We're not going to be there every single day. We will deal with complaints and the complaint would have to come up. As far as the dog that's not fixed or neutered, when a dog just gets out and you can't catch him right away, we're not interested in coming to arrest you for that or sight you for something like that. But if a dog is let out without any supervision, constantly, that's what we're trying to deal with, the abusers of this. Amanda Scott - Okay, I just wanted to get some clarification on that because there has been people, particularly on my street that I live on, that's anal about dogs in general and that's why I also wanted to get clarifications as well. Town Board Minutes Page 8 November 3, 2010 Supervisor Morey - We're not interested in dogs that get away like that; my dog gets away once in awhile. Arnold Scott - In Section 7 under prohibited acts, item number 4 about the habitual, loud howling, barking, crying. It seems to me that on my street that if a dog barks once, we are in violation of the law, but any other dog can bark for hours on end and they're not in violation for some reason. So, I'm just thinking maybe you should clarify, like maybe a specific amount of minutes that a dog has to be barking before they are in violation of this. Supervisor Morey - Again, we're trying to make this a general as possible. What we're trying to do is if somebody's dog is just barking once in awhile or in the morning when they're being fed or something like that, we're not interested in fining you for anything like that. What we're trying to do is make this as general as possible and let the dog officer evaluate what the situation is. Arnold Scott - Okay, because, you know, it just seems like me and my wife have been singled out on this with the Village law and we just don't want to see the pattern continue, if you will. Supervisor Morey - No, I mean, we can't control what your neighbors say or do, but for the most part, if they're not habitually barking all the time and left out 12 hours a day or 24 hours a day, chained up, that's what we are interested in stopping, not the occasional bark. Arnold Scott- Okay, I think that clarifies that then. Supervisor Morey - I might note that this was written with the approval of the Clerks' Association of Tompkins County and what's important about that is that the Clerks will be administering this law. Supervisor Morey moved to close the Public Hearing, seconded by Councilman Sovocool, at 8:12 pm. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey Clerk Scheffler explained to the Board that this is Proposed Local Law No. 2 for the Year 2010 and Proposed Local Law No. 1 is the Town of Groton Land Use and Development Code, which has not been passed yet. Since Proposed Local Law No. 2 will be passed first, it will actually become Local Law No. 1 for the Year 2010 when it is filed with the Secretary of State. RESOLUTION #10-066 -ADOPT LOCAL LAW NO. 1 FOR THE YEAR 2010 MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Gamel Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby adopts Local Law No. 1 for the Year 2010 entitled "Licensing, Identification and Control of Dogs in the Town of Groton." Town Board Minutes Page 9 November 3, 2010 RESOLUTION #10-067 - SET FEES FOR LICENSING AND IDENTIFICATION OF DOGS MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Gamel Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey WHEREAS, on June 22, 2010, Governor Paterson signed a measure into law as part of the 2010-2011 State Budget that moves the remainder of the dog licensing function required by Article 7 of the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets Law to the local level, and WHEREAS, as a result, the existing roles in the licensing of dogs for both county government and New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets will be eliminated on January 1, 2011, and WHEREAS, in order to offset costs associated with this requirement, Part T of the Laws of New York 2010, eliminates the current revenue-sharing structure between localities, counties and New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets and directs 1000 of the revenue associated with dog licensing to the licensing municipality, and WHEREAS, under this new provision of Article 7 of New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets Law the local municipality is authorized to establish a fee schedule pertaining to the licensing, identification and enumeration of dogs, now therefore BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town Board of the Town of Groton hereby adopts the following fee schedule pertaining to the licensing, identification and enumeration of dogs within the Town and Village of Groton: Dog License & Identification Fees: Altered Dog Town License Fee: $10.00 Altered Dog Animal Population Control Fee: $ 1 .00 - Mandated by NYS Unaltered Dog Town License Fee: $20.00 Unaltered Dog Animal Population Control Fee: $ 3.00 - Mandated by NYS Impounded Dog License Surcharge: $ 5.00 Replacement Tag: $ 3.00 Tompkins County Working Dog Tag: No Charge Purebred License - 5-20 Dogs: $100.00 + Population Control Fees Purebred License - 21+ Dogs: $200.00 + Population Control Fees AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that these fees shall become effective January 1, 2011 and may be reviewed and amended from time to time as the Town Board deems appropriate. Town Board Minutes Page 10 November 3, 2010 Councilman Donald Scheffler, as Recreation Coordinator - Our Halloween party at the Legion was Saturday. I wasn't able to attend but I heard it was a record crowd and everybody had a lot of fun. There was hay rides and games for the kids. That's basically all I have to report as we haven't had a meeting yet this month. Privilege of the Floor: Sue Bennett- I just wanted to know if I could ask a question at item 13, or ask it know. Supervisor Morey - Go ahead. Sue Bennett - I just wanted to know if there were any changes made to the Code at item 13. Supervisor Morey - We're going to discuss that. So let's go to item 13, discussion of Public Hearing on Town of Groton Land Use and Development Code. Attorney Casullo - Let me chime in here. First of all I have, and I know April has, and I think all the Board members have, received a letter from Paul Tavelli on Friday. It has some issues with the mass gatherings. Quite frankly, I read the letter, and I understand the SEQR aspect of it but I don't understand, quite frankly because I haven't had the time to look at it, there is a report that was done by Interteck. I don't really understand it and would be the first to admit that I'm not well versed in all of these numbers. I want to get somebody that I feel can explain this to me and make some heads and tales of it. Supervisor Morey - The Board just received it tonight, so we haven't had time to digest it at all. Attorney Casullo - I think it's critical to some degree that apparently, if I'm understanding this correctly, that the test was done at the last concert that Mr. Eckert held. But right now, it's just numbers. I don't know if anyone else Supervisor Morey - No, the Board just received it. Attorney Casullo - I need some time to look at it and maybe give the Board some knowledgeable response to what Paul has indicated. The one thing that I want to make sure is, April, do you have a resolution that the Town has named itself lead agency and we have all the resolutions needed to get this out in final form to all the parties for SEQR review? Clerk Scheffler - Yes, they made that resolution probably a year ago. We could always do another one. Attorney Casullo - You could, just to have it on the books that basically the Town wants to declare itself lead agency for the final version. That would be the September 2010 version of this Code, right? That they want to be lead agency and they will notify other involved agencies of that intent and give them opportunity to respond. Town Board Minutes Page 11 November 3, 2010 RESOLUTION #10-068 - DECLARE TOWN OF GROTON AS LEAD AGENCY FOR STATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY REVIEW (SEQR) MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Scheffler Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby declares itself as Lead Agency for the purpose of the State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) of the September 2010 Draft of the Town of Groton Land Use and Development Code. Attorney Casullo - My hope is, that I can digest the most critical part of this letter. I mean, the test is there but it doesn't tell me whether it's good, bad or otherwise. I want to find that out and then we'll go from there and probably have a lot more information for you at the December 14th meeting. Announcements: ➢ Planning Board Meeting - November 18 at 7:30 pm ➢ Zoning Board of Appeals - November 24 at 7:00 pm There being no further business, Councilman Sovocool moved to adjourn, seconded by Councilman Scheffler, at 8:22 pm. Unanimous. April L. Scheffler, RMC Town Clerk