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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-05-14TOWN OF GROTON — MINUTES OF TOWN BOARD MEETING TUESDAY, MARCH 13, 2019 AT 7:30 PM THE TOWN HALL, 101 CONGER BOULEVARD Town Officers Present: Donald F. Scheffler, Supervisor Richard Gamel, Councilperson Crystal Young, Councilperson Brian Klumpp, Councilperson Sheldon C. Clark, Councilperson Michael Perkins, Highway Supt. April L. Scheffler, Town Clerk Charles Rankin, Bookkeeper Francis Castillo, Attorney Town Officers Absent: Also Present: W. Rick Fritz, Code Official Ben Nelson A. D. Dawson, Town Justice Eric Satterly John Norman, Town Justice Glenn Morey MOVED by Councilperson Klumpp, seconded by Councilperson Gamel, to approve the minutes of the April 9, 2019 meeting as presented. Ayes - Clark, Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler RESOLUTION #19-044 - APPROVAL OF VOUCHERS MOVED by Supervisor Scheffler, seconded by Councilperson Young WHEREAS, vouchers for Abstract #5, numbered 174 - 236 were reviewed and audited by the Town Board, be it RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves said vouchers for the accounts and in the total amounts as follows: Code Fund Totals A GENERAL FUND 29.807.26 B GENERAL FUND PART TORN 43.668.48 DA HIGHWAY FUND 60,159.94 DB HIGHWAY FUND PART TO`VN 23..065.60 SFI- SPECI.aL FUND 34.375.00 SL2- PERL:A%ILLE LIGHTING DISTRICT 160.81 SLI- MCLEAN LIGHTING DISTRICT 262.58 Total: 1919499.67 Ayes - Clark, Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler Nays - Resolution Passed Monthly Reports: Charles Rankin, Bookkeeper - Submitted monthly reports for the Board's review and requested budget adjustments. The State's questions about the annual report, that had been mentioned last month, had all been answered. The auditors will be here on June 10th to start the annual audit. The Village officials are working with their architects, trying to find ways to get the price down for their new municipal building. One option would be to take the Police Department out of it. Town Board Minutes Page 2 May 14, 2019 Councilperson Klumpp asked if it would then be designed so the Police Department could be added at a later time. Mr. Rankin said that it would and also described some of the other options that were being thought about. RESOLUTION #19-045 - 2019 BUDGET ADJUSTMENT MOVED by Supervisor Scheffler, seconded by Councilperson Clark RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves the following 2019 Budget Adjustment: General Fund, Town Wide: From: Contingency, A1990.4 .........................................$500.00 To: Superintendent of Highways, Contractual, A5010.4 ........ 500.00 Ayes - Clark, Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler Nays - Resolution Passed RESOLUTION #19-046 - 2019 BUDGET ADJUSTMENT MOVED by Councilperson Klumpp, seconded by Councilperson Young RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves the following 2019 Budget Adjustment: General Fund, Part Town: From: Contingency, B1990.4 ......................$3,000.00 To: Trails Grant Expense, B7140.41 .............3,000.00 Ayes - Clark, Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler Nays - Resolution Passed RESOLUTION #19-047 - 2019 BUDGET ADJUSTMENT MOVED by Supervisor Scheffler, seconded by Councilperson Gamel RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves the following 2019 Budget Adjustment: General Fund - Part Town: From: Contingency, B1990.4 .............$1,055.00 To: Refuse & Garbage, B8160.4 ........ 1,055.00 Ayes - Clark, Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler Nays - Resolution Passed W. Rick Fritz, Code/Fire Enforcement Officer - Was not present but had submitted monthly reports for the Board's review. Michael Perkins, Highway Superintendent - The Highway Department has been cleaning ditches and helping some of the other towns with their paving. The Supervisor and Town Board should be very proud of their Highway workers. They are a great bunch of guys who work well together and have the talent to get things done. They are still down a man, but instead of hiring someone permanently at this time, he would like to hire a seasonal employee to help with some of the mowing, shop work, etc. during the summer. Clean-up Day went well. Josh Barron is currently in the Laborer position and has proven that he can do much more and should be promoted to Motor Equipment Operator. Mack Rankin has Town Board Minutes Page 3 May 14, 2019 successfully completed his 3 -month probation period. The riding lawnmower currently being used is old and extremely dangerous for anyone to be using. Supt. Perkins said that they were looking to replace it with a new riding mower and gave the Board the specifications on the one they were considering. RESOLUTION #19-048 - PURCHASE JOHN DEERE RIDING LAWNMOWER MOVED by Supervisor Scheffler, seconded by Councilperson Clark RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves the purchase of a John Deere Select Series X380 Lawn Tractor with 54" Accel Deep Mower Deck. Ayes - Clark, Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler Nays - Resolution Passed RESOLUTION #19-049 - APPROVE PROMOTION & PAY RAISE FOR JOSH BARRON MOVED by Supervisor Scheffler, seconded by Councilperson Clark RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves the promotion of Josh Barron to Motor Equipment Operator and a pay raise of $1.00 per hour. Ayes - Clark, Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler Nays - Resolution Passed RESOLUTION #19-050 - APPROVE PAY RAISE FOR MACK RANKIN MOVED by Supervisor Scheffler, seconded by Councilperson Gamel WHEREAS, Mack Rankin has successfully completed his 3 -month probation period, now therefore be it RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves a 50 -cent raise beginning with the next paycheck. Ayes - Clark, Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler Nays - Resolution Passed Superintendent Perkins and Ben Nelson, the Highway Mechanic, spoke to the Board about the new truck that will be coming soon. They will be receiving some diagnostic software with the truck and would like to purchase additional software: On Command, for International truck parts and servicing; Diamond Logic Builder, for anything having to do with the body of an International truck; and Cummins Insite, for diagnostics of the Cummins engines. These software packages will cost approximately $2,215.00, but be invaluable in diagnosing and servicing all of the International trucks in the fleet. In the long run, the software will save the Town money as it will be possible to diagnose problems and fix them here in our own shop rather than have the expense of transporting everything to Syracuse or other places for costly repairs. Mr. Nelson has used very similar software before and will not require additional training. They would also like to purchase a new laptop computer to run the programs. The one that has been recommended is currently listed as $859.99. Town Board Minutes Page 4 May 14, 2019 RESOLUTION #19-051 - AUTHORIZE PURCHASE OF COMPUTER AND SOFTWARE MOVED by Supervisor Scheffler, seconded by Councilperson Klumpp RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves the Highway Department purchase of a new HP laptop computer and additional diagnostic software: On Command, Diamond Logic Builder, and Cummins Insite. Ayes - Clark, Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler Nays - Resolution Passed RESOLUTION #19-052 - HIRE SEASONAL HIGHWAY EMPLOYEE MOVED by Supervisor Scheffler, seconded by Councilperson Gamel RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves the hiring of a Seasonal Highway Employee for not over 20 weeks, for an hourly wage of between $14.00 and $16.00 depending on experience and abilities as determined by the Highway Superintendent. Ayes - Clark, Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler Nays - Resolution Passed Superintendent Perkins will work with Clerk Scheffler to get the position posted on the County website. April L. Scheffler, RMC, Town Clerk/Tax Collector - Submitted monthly reports for the Board's review. She and the Deputy attended the New York State Town Clerks Association annual conference the week before. It was a good conference with lots of valuable classes. Clerk Scheffler has one more year left as District 6 Director for the Association. Dryden Town Clerk, Bambi Avery, was sworn in as 1 St Vice President of the Association. Francis Casullo, Attorney for the Town - Had nothing to report. John J. Norman and A. D. Dawson, Town Justices - Were not present. Councilperson Crystal Young as Representative to Joint Youth Program - Had nothing to report for the Tompkins County Recreation Partnership Board. The Summer/Fall Program guide for the Joint Recreation Committee is now out. Booklets are available online, in school, at the library, and at the town and village offices. Online registration is available for summer programs through June 30th . After June 3 0th, only paper registrations will be accepted. This process will help the village office and I stay on top of last minute registrations. One error is in the booklet: swim lessons begin Monday, July 1 st, not Sunday, June 30th. Fall youth soccer, cheer, and football information can be found in the booklet. A new youth cheer lead is needed this year. The Youth Commission is looking for Summer Camp sponsors for children. We would like every child who wants to go to camp to be able to attend. It costs $100 per week to attend camp, and not every family can afford that amount. Donations are tax deductible and may be sent to Groton Youth Commission. Annual Report presented: Total youth served = 179; 3 Special Events served over 1,000 Groton community members; 10 youth were employed at local summer camp or in Groton Harvest nutrition program; summer camp served 77 youth with 6 weeks of programming. Registration forms are available for anyone interested in participating in the Coalition for Healthy Youth golf tournament on June 8th, at the Newman Golf Course. This is a non-competitive event meant to interest youth in a lifelong sports to avoid dangerous activities such as drugs, smoking and alcohol. The cost is $50 per team and includes 9 Town Board Minutes Page S May 14, 2019 holes of golf with a cart, a hat, goodie bag and picnic lunch. Registration forms can be found at: http://tompkinscountvnv. aov/files2/Vouth/Traininas/Golf/o2OTournament%2OEntry%2OForm%202019.p df Councilperson Young has not been able to attend the Youth Commission meetings as she always has a conflict on the nights they are scheduled. It doesn't look like the situation will get any better. The Board discussed who should take her place as the Town's representative and it was decided that Supervisor Scheffler would do it temporarily and then rotate with Councilperson Klumpp. Glenn Morey, County Legislator - Part of Salt Road has been paved by the County. They will be doing the bridge by Baker Miller, in the Village of Groton, this year. Mr. Morey brought back statistics from a recent budget retreat: The median house price in Tompkins County is $190,000.00, up from $185,000.00. The tax cap estimate will be 3.5 1 %, but our target is going to be 2.76%. I think that's a little high because it adds $10.00 to your bill at $190,000.00. Most people on the Legislature wanted 4%. Unemployment is low, 3.6%; inflation is down, 1/9%; the Market is doing okay; SNAP, for food stamps, remains low; family assistance, welfare and things like that, continues to decline; pension rates are flat; sales tax is growing; town plowing remains stable; and Department of Social Services mandates from the State remain stable. There is however less Federal assistance. Ben Nelson, Groton Fire Department - The Fire Department has done almost all the events that Mr. Nelson told the Board about last month. The Easter Egg Hunt and the April BBQ were big successes. They sold 600 halves of chickens in just over an hour and turned away almost 50 people. Councilperson Klumpp - Said that he was number 603, but that it made him feel good about the community and it was nice to see that everyone was there in support of the Fire Department on what was a terrible, rainy day. Ben Nelson - They had to cancel the Students Against Drunk Driving pre -prom program due to the weather. To date there have been 321 ambulance calls and 63 fire calls. The ambulance driver is still out following surgery, but the schedule is being covered by others very well. RESOLUTION # 19-053 - STANDARD WORK DAY AND REPORTING FOR ELECTED AND APPOINTED OFFICIALS MOVED by Supervisor Scheffler, seconded by Councilperson Clark RESOLVED, that the Town Board of the Town of Groton (Location Code 30445) hereby establishes the following standard work days for these titles and will report the officials to the New York State and Local Retirement System based on their activities: Standard Social X Current Record of X If Title Work Name Security Registration if Term Begins Activities Record Day # # Tier & Ends Result Not 1 Submitted Elected Officials Town Justice 6 John Norman - 1/1/2015 20.39 12/31/2018 Appointed Officials Highway g Michael Perkins 1/3/2019 22,60 Superintendant 12/31/2019 Ayes - Clark, Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler Nays - Resolution Passed Town Board Minutes Page 6 May 14, 2019 RESOLUTION #19-054 - COURT CLERK TO ATTEND CONFERENCE MOVED by Councilperson Young, seconded by Councilperson Klumpp RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves the payment of expenses for the Court Clerk, Kathy Barron, to attend the New York State Magistrates Court Clerks Conference in Potsdam, New York, July 15 - 17, 2019. Ayes - Clark, Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler Nays - Resolution Passed Privilege of the Floor: No one from the public wished to speak. Councilperson Young - Updated the Board on the LED Streetlight Initiative. There are many municipalities in the County looking at the buy-back program but there is apparently a lot more involved than was initially expected, so she is glad we didn't go that route. It appears that Groton is the only one who has decided to pay for the conversion to LED and have NYSEG continue to own everything. After speaking with Tad Palmer, from NYSEG, there is apparently nothing else that Groton needs to do but is on the list to be converted. She will email all the information she received to the rest of the Board. Councilperson Clark - Had contacted Mr. Palmer today and Mr. Palmer will be reaching out to Clerk Scheffler in 3-4 weeks, at which time we will need to fill out some forms and decide on what color and brightness of the lights we wish to have. Discussion took place on the bid specs for the Highway Garage roof, which are almost finalized. They may have an engineer look over the paperwork to make sure everything is in order. Announcements: ➢ Planning Board, May 16th at 7:30 pm ➢ Zoning Board of Appeals, May 15 It 7:00 pm There being no further business, Councilperson Gamel moved to adjourn, seconded by Councilperson Klumpp, at 8:26 pm. Unanimous. April L. Scheffler, RMC Town Clerk