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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTB Minutes 1990-04-09 TOWN OF ITHACA TOWN BOARD MEETING April 9 , 1990 At a Regular Meeting of the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca , Tompkins County , New York , held at the Town Hall , 126 East Seneca Street , Ithaca , New York , on the 9th day of April , 1990 , there were PRESENT : Shirley Raffensperger , Supervisor John Whitcomb , Councilman Patricia Leary , Councilwoman David Klein , Councilman Frank Liguori , Councilman Catherine Valentino , Councilwoman Karl Niklas , Councilman ALSO PRESENT : John Ozolins , Highway Superintendent Andrew Frost , Building Inspector/ Zoning Officer Daniel Walker , Town Engineer John Barney , Town Attorney Deborah Dietrich , Board of Reps Carolyn Grigorov, Planning Board Peter Grigorov , 611 Coddington Road David Auble , Chase Farm Bill Farrell , 581 East Miller Road Bill Hilker , 277 Burns Road Beth Mulholland , 105 Penny Lane Louise Mudrak , 693 Coddington Road David Carr , 674 Coddington Road Orlando Iacovelli , 220 Pennsylvania Avenue ,Ralph Iacovelli , 240 Pennsylvania Avenue Michael Carr , 675 Coddington Road Bill Steel , 121 Kendall Avenue Jeff Roberts , 1047 Danby Road Brian Roberts , Ithaca College Kinga M . Gergely , 106 Juniper Drive Elliott , Lauderdale , 381 Stone Quarry Road Ron Simpson , 112 Pine View Terrace Bonnie Simpson , 112 Pine View Terrace Nancy Shary , 275 Burns Road Monica Novakovic , 384 Coddington Road Barbara L . Harpel , Ithaca College Lou S . Caren , Ithaca College Michael Knniter , Ithaca College Ingrid Hohn Olgen , Ithaca College Aafle Steenhius , 266 Pennsylvania Avenue Yarrow Nelson , 327 West King Road Bob Greene , 248 Pennsylvania Avenue Representatives of the Media : Jay Cox PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Supervisor led the assemblage in the Pledge of Allegiance . i Town Board Minutes 2 April 9 , 1990 REPORT OF TOWN OFFICIALS Supervisor ' s Report Supervisor Raffensperger stated that she wanted to report that as far as she could figure out , the Town of Ithaca has been thoroughly audited but we do not have for you tonight the audit report as it has not yet been received . She assumed the Board would be reviewing it in May along with the investment policy . It is possible that we will need to have a mid-month meeting at noon , there are at least two items that she knew about one is recommendation from the Zoning Board of Appeals for an appointment to fill their vacancy . They would very much like to fill that vacancy before the 25th . Also , we are going to have a contract from Stearns & Wheler for borings that are necessary for the 1990 water and sewer projects . Supervisor Raffensperger went on to say . that she had had a number of letters and phone calls concerning the proposal for a McDonald ' s at the East Hill Plaza , she stated that she had put them in a folder in her office and anybody who wants to look at them should stop by . She noted that the Board had received copies of a lot of them but the phone calls you obviously don ' t know about . That will go to the Planning Board for a site plan review and that has not yet been scheduled . The staff has been busy with the implementation of the development review fees which you passed at last meeting . At the last meting of the Planning Board , a number of representatives from Cornell came to present their Cornell Master Plan . She stated that in many ways it was her personal opinion that this was kind of a water shed , she stated that she was at least pleased to see the quality of people and the presentation and Cornell ' s willingness to report to us their overall campus plan and the proposals they either have before the Town of Ithaca or will have before the Town of Ithaca . She stated that she wanted to welcome the new Town Engineer , Dan Walker , he came on staff today . Town Engineer ' s Report Town Engineer Dan Walker remarked that he did not have a written report because he spent the day trying to figure out where the Town was . He stated that he felt very comfortable working with the Town staff , we spent the day reviewing the work ahead of him as Town Engineer and that he was looking forward to working with all of the staff and with all the members of Council and the Supervisor on a daily basis . He stated that he believed there were some questions that he would be able to answer on some of the issues down the line and look forward to working with everyone . Town Highway Superintendent ' s Report Town Highway Superintendent John Ozolins stated that as far as vehicle maintenance for the past month , several more vehicles were serviced , the Badger was taken to Road Equipment . There is only one to be converted to summer but with the weather reports he was holding off on that . Burns Road , we did some tree removal and landscaping , however , there is more landscaping required but there is other work that needs to be done first . The contractor was here last week so the sign inventory is about 95 % complete . The Parks Department ' s main activity was working on the park by Deer Run . Building Inspector/ Zoning Officer ' s Re rt Building Inspector/ Zoning Officer Andrew Frost stated that they had issued 14 building permits for the month of March which included five permits for single family dwellings , one for two- family house , one for renovations , one for a conversion , two for additions and one for Cornell for the replacement of a cooling tower and four miscellaneous . We issued 14 certificates of occupancy . We i Town Board Minutes 3 April 9 , 1990 investigated two new complaints one at Ide ' s and one at a Day Care . We made 104 field visits during the month of March . Town Planner ' s Report Town Planner Susan Beeners reported that during this month we had one Planning Board meeting which was a presentation of Cornell ' s Master Plan and presentation of a number of projects they have under application with the Town . At that meeting there was also a referral of the proposed Six Mile Conservation Zone to the CAC . We are aiming for May 1st for the mail out of the survey The CAC net last Thursday and most of the discussion was about current development projects . The staff has been working with the development review fees which were effective last Tuesday and the collection of these fees . REPORT OF TOWN COMMITTEES Comprehensive Planning Committee Counci]mk-m Klein reported that the Town Planner had touched on their work briefly and a copy of the survey did go out to Board members . We have set up another meeting of the committee for the 18th to get final feedback on the survey . We do have a resolution tonight authorizing the expenditure of funds . We are meeting with the consultant on the 13th to go over a work plan , priority tasks for the committee . Fire Station Committee Councilman Klein stated that the renovations and new construction is approximately 88 % along . They anticipate the new stations will be fairly well complete mid-May , end of May , with the site work and paving being completed about the first of June and they seem to be on line . The renovation projects have dragged a bit , there have been a considerable amount of charge orders relative to internal alarm systems and communication systems . With four contractors they have had problems with coordination . Conservation Advisory Council Councilman Whitcomb stated that they had met twice , once in March and again in April . The Agricultural Subcommittee has been busy devising a survey for local farms and other people involved in Agriculture , getting their views on land use and farm land protection in the Town of Ithaca . That survey has been mailed to seventeen different farms . They will also be interviewing each farmer . The rest of Council has been busy absorbing all the reams of written work that has been presented to us , environment and SEAR regulations . We will be meeting again the first part of May . Public Works Committee Councilman Whitcomb noted that the committee had before the Town Board tonight a proposal to accept the revised road specifications which were originally presented to the Board last year and were adopted on an interim basis . We expect to meet with representatives from the City to discuss various contracts we have with the City for maintenance , sewer , etc . Codes and Ordinance Committee Councilman Niklas reported that the Committee had not had a second meeting since he reported last , we are meeting next Monday . REPORT OF COUNTY REPRESENTATIVES Deborah Dietrich reported that there has been substantial compliance with the trash tag system , County wide and within the Town of Ithaca it has exceeded 90 % . We are also working on f � Town Board Minutes 4 April 9 , 1990 developing a tag for 15 # bags . The telephone has been ringing off the hook on the new re-evaluation . There have been some really huge jumps on lake front property , for instance a house that sold a couple of years ago for $ 135 , 000 that should be fairly close to fair market with a little added for inflation and the re-evaluation came in at $ 300 , 000 . So there are some problems . She wanted to note her support for the public hearing , later in the meeting , for a stop sign at West King rather than a yield as this was something people have been calling her about for years . She felt it was a dangerous intersection . Also , a street light is needed on the corner of Route 96 and DuBois Road . There used to be a street light down at the curve of DuBois now people feel there is a need for one on the corner as it is quite dark . She stated that she would like to figure out who ' s responsibility this was , the County or the Town . Supervisor Raffensperger stated that the Town has looked at the Highway Barn as a possible site for the recycling drop off center . When we did that we were told that probably the preferred site would be Biggs and she stated she had not heard back about this . She asked Representative Dietrich what she knew about this . Representative Dietrich stated that she had reccmm�ended Biggs , however , since then she had not heard from Barbara Eckstrom but would check with her . She asked if the Town had a preference ? Supervisor Raffensperger stated that basically , of the group that net at the Highway Barn , especially the Highway Superintendent , was delighted to hear there was an alternate site . Beyond that , the location does seem to be better and does seem to serve more Town of Ithaca people more safely . Representative Dietrich noted that there was a Town of Ithaca representative vacancy in the Human Services Coalition . Supervisor Raffensperger stated that she would check because she was not sure when the Town last had a representative . Councilman Liguori asked if there was any place that would take plastic for recycling? Mrs . Dietrich replied no . FINANCIAL REPORTS RESOLUTION NO , 84 Motion by Councilman Niklas ; seconded by Councilman Liguori , RESOLVED , that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca hereby approve the Financial Reports for the months of December 1989 and January 1990 , as presented . (Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori , Valentino and Niklas voting Aye . Nays - none ) . APPROVAL OF MINUTES RESOLUTION NO , 85 Motion by Councilman Whitcomb ; seconded by Councilman Klein , i I Town Board Minutes 5 April 9 , 1990 RESOLVED , that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca hereby approve the minutes of the February Town Board meeting as presented by the Town Clerk . ( Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori and Valentino voting Aye . Nays - none ) . Abstaining - Niklas ) INVESTMENT REPORTS Supervisor Raffensperger noted that no action was necessary on the item . TOWN OF ITHACA INVESTMENT REPORT FOR THE QUARTER 10 / 1 / 89 - 12 / 31 / 89 CERTIFICATES OF DEPOSIT Date Rate of Maturity Acquired Amount Interest Date 9 / 3 / 89 $ 10 , 411 . 48 8 . 30 % 3 / 3 / 90 SAVINGS End of Month Rate of Interest Month Balance Interest Earned October $ 1 , 242 , 903 . 95 6 . 00 % $ 6 , 774 . 84 November $ 1 , 379 , 391 . 25 6 . 00 % $ 6 , 797 . 79 December $ 1 , 403 , 737 . 82 N/A $ 7 , 333 . 38 INTEREST C:F-=ING End of Month Rate of Interest Month Balance Interest Earned October $ 52 , 206 . 13 4 . 50 % $ 445 . 62 November $ 13 , 014 . 94 4 . 50 % $ 214 . 19 December $ 390 , 587938 N/A $ 605 . 23 ANNUAL INVESTMENT REPORT The Supervisor also noted that no action was necessary on this item either . ANNUAL INVESTMENT REPORT TOWN OF ITHACA for the year ending 12 / 31 / 89 This annual investment report for the year ending 12 / 31 / 89 is being submitted to the Town of Ithaca Town Board as specified in the Town ' s Investment Policy adopted 5 / 11 / 87 . Town Board Minutes 6 April 9 , 1990 Proposed changes to the investment policy : delete portions relating to Repurchase Agreements . Investment income for 1989 : $ 146 , 345 . 03 A listing of investments and collateral at year-end are included in the independent auditor ' s report to be distributed to the Board under separate cover . APPROVAL OF NEWST ,F:'i*iER Supervisor Raffensperger noted that the Newsletter was not in the Town Board members packets and will not go out until the first of May . She stated that she wanted to ask the Board for their approval to work on the Newsletter for a May 1st mail out with the survey . It seemed foolish to have two mailing so close to each other . She stated that she would give each Board member a draft copy of -the Newsletter prior to May 1st for their review and comments, DISCUSSION OF WEST HILL WATER Supervisor Raffensperger stated that a week or so ago she received a flurry of phone calls and a couple of letters wanting to know why the hydrants had been tagged on West Hill . The answer to the question came from our Engineering Department was that they had been tagged by the Fire Department because they are not operable because of deficient flow. We have also received a number of questions about the water pressure and/or flow for home use . Town Engineer Dan Walker stated that basically the situation on West Hill was that the water was at the end of the lines , particularly in the upper elevations toward the Town boundary and it has to do with lack of elevation . That area is too high and there is not enough pressure from our pressure tank . A hydrophenumatic pump station was installed several years ago and that is adequate to provide pressure for danestic use but not sufficient flow for fire needs . The pressure settings were modified by the Bolton Point staff this past week . That should lessen sane of the concerns of the residents of having low danestic pressure . It does not lessen the problems of inadequate flow volumes for fire protection . Really , the only thing that will solve that problem is to provide additional storage and a more permanent solution than the hydrophenumatic tank . Supervisor Raffensperger noted that the Town had a report fran Lozier Engineers last year which outlined basically three alternatives for improving that . She stated it was her suggestion that the Board ask the Engineering Department to review that report and to report back to the Board in the fall with a recommendation as to how we might proceed and if we wish to proceed in improving the flows in that area and to project saw costs on each of the alternatives . It is the area that is being served by the last extension of water . Councilman Whitcanb asked , when that extension of water was planned and approved , was this Board aware that there would be these kinds of problems ? Supervisor Raffensperger replied that she could only speak for herself but that she was not aware that there would be that substantial of a problem . She stated that she did not know whether or not there were any estimates that there would be that kind of flow difficulty . She went on to say that she guessed that she Town Board Minutes 7 April 9 , 1990 wished the Board had put in the mechanics for the hydrants and not put in the hydrants themselves . Councilwoman Valentino asked if the homes in the area were experiencing some kind of difficulty with pressure ? Town Engineer Walker replied that there were some comments about low water pressure towards the end of Woolf Lane and onto Trumansburg Road , at the upper end . The Bolton Point staff have increased the pressure settings on the pump station and apparently that has helped with the pressures . Councilman Whitcomb remarked , there are additional extensions of water being considered for later this year , is that correct? Supervisor Raffensperger replied that is correct and the first question she had asked was would there be sufficient flow for fire protection. and the answer was yes . Town Engineer Walker remarked that that would be Inlet Valley and will be fed from an entirely different source . REVISED PIAMING TECHNICIAN JOB DESCRIPTION AND ADVERTISING FOR POSITION RESOLUTION NO . 86 Motion by Councilwoman Valentino ; seconded by Councilman Niklas , RESOLVED , that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca hereby approve the revised Planning Technician job description and the advertising for the position . ( Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori , Valentino and Niklas voting Aye . Nays - none ) . ASSESSMENT GRIEVANCE DAY RESOLUTION NO . 87 Motion by Councilman Whitcomb ; seconded by Councilman Klein , RESOLVED , that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca hereby appoint Councilwoman Valentino and Councilwcman Leary to represent the Town of Ithaca at the Town of Ithaca Assessment Grievance Day to be held on May 11 , 1990 from 3 : 00 P . M . to 8 : 00 P . M . , and FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED , that Councilman Liguori be appointed as the alternate representative . ( Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori , Valentino and Niklas voting Aye . Nays - none ) . RESOLUTIONS OF RECOGNITION Supervisor Raffensperger stated that traditionally departing members of the Town Board are recognized by resolutions of appreciation which are then printed and framed and presented to them . RESOLUTION NO . 88 Motion by Supervisor Raffensperger , seconded by Councilman Niklas , Town Board Minutbs 1 8 April 9 , 1990 WHEREAS , Noel Desch was appointed to the Town Planning Board effective February 3 , 1954 and served as its Chairman from November 14 , 1965 through July 9 , 1968 , and WHEREAS , in August of 1968 , Noel was appointed to the Ithaca Town Board and was subsequently elected and re-elected to that position serving as a member of the Town Board through December 31 , 1978 , and WHEREAS , in November 1978 , Noel was elected to the first of five terms as Supervisor of the Town of Ithaca , and WHEREAS , during his more than twenty- four years of service to the Town of Ithaca Noel served the Town in exemplary fashion . Among the outstanding achievements during that time were the Bolton Point Intermunicipal Water System encompassing five municipalities , the Joint sewer project with the City of Ithaca , the creation of the Townwide water and sewer districts , the joint efforts to construct two fire stations in the Town of Ithaca , and the expansion of the infrastructure to provide water and sewer facilities to various areas of the Town , and WHEREAS , during his career of public service to the Town of Ithaca Noel has left a legacy of improvements to the Town and its inhabitants for generations to come , NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED , that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca on behalf of the people of the Town of Ithaca , express our appreciation to you , Noel , for your distinguished and visionary service to our community . ( Raffensperger , Whitccmb , Leary , Klein , Liguori , Valentino and Niklas voting Aye . Nays - none ) . RESOLUTION N0 . 89 Motion by Councilman Niklas ; seconded by Councilwoman Valentino , WHEREAS , Robert G . Bartholf was appointed to the Ithaca Town Board in October of 1983 , and was subsequently elected as a member of the Town Board , serving the people of the Town of Ithaca with distinction for more than six years , and WHEREAS , during his career of public service with the Town , Bob pursued municipal affairs diligently and with a special interest and concern for highway maintenance and systems and the equipping and staffing of the Town ' s highway department , fire protection and still presently serves as the Town ' s representative to the Tompkins County Economic Advisory Board , and WHEREAS , Bob provided extensive assistance on other matters of critical concern to the Town and its inhabitants , NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED , that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca on behalf of the people of the Town of Ithaca express our appreciation for the dedication , wisdom and statesmanship which Bob has provided us . ( Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori , Valentino and Niklas voting Aye . Nays - none ) . RESOLUTION NO . 90 Motion by Councilman Whitcanb ; seconded by Councilman Klein , Town Board Minutes 9 April 9 , 1990 WHEREAS , Mr . Henry McPeak was elected to the Ithaca Town Board in November of 1979 , and served the people of the Town of Ithaca with distinction for ten years , and WHEREAS , during his career of public service with the Town Henry pursued municipal affairs with distinction and uncommon wit demonstrating a level of integrity , vision and professionalism essential to the sound decisions that have guided the Town and will continue to guide the Town for many years to come , and WHEREAS , Henry , among his many other contributions to the Town , diligently pursued the interests of the Town in conjunction with its cable franchises , the staffing and personnel of the Town , and provided :invaluable advice and wisdom in connection with the overall operations of the Town , NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED , that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca on behalf of the people of the Town of Ithaca , express our appreciation for Henry ' s dedication and distinguished service to the Town . (Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori , Valentino and Niklas voting Aye . Nays - none ) . PLANNING SURVEY BUDGET Councilman Niklas asked where the money would be caning from , what budget item .) Supervisor Raffensperger replied , it ' s going to come from the Planning portion of the budget . She stated that it was also fair to advise the Board that a lot of commitments have been made to that portion of the budget and she was sure that later in the year she would be coning to the Board for supplements to the line items . The Supervisor went on to say that she had planned to send out a newsletter in this quarter and that about $ 800 plus would be saved in postage by combining the two . RESOLUTION N0 . 91 Motion by Councilman Niklas ; seconded by Councilman Whitcomb , WHEREAS , a survey to solicit the concerns of Town of Ithaca residents regarding issues facing the Town of Ithaca today , and to assess their attitudes regarding the future development of the Town , was recommended by Stuart I . Brown Associates as part of a comprehensive planning process for the Town of Ithaca , and WHEREAS , the Comprehensive Planning Committee has reviewed a draft of the proposed survey of the Town questionnaire , and WHEREAS , the Comprehensive Planning Committee recommends that the survey be distributed to residents throughout the Town , including the Village of Cayuga Heights , and WHEREAS , such survey is expected to cost approximately $ 7 , 000 , NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED , that the Comprehensive Planning Committee recommends that the Town Board authorize the expenditure of a sum not to exceed $ 7 , 000 for the printing , distribution , and tabulation of the results of said survey . (Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori , Valentino , and Niklas voting Aye . Nays - none ) . Town Board Minutes 10 April 9 , 1990 PERSONS TO BE HEARD Supervisor Raffensperger noted that Mr . Farrell was at the meeting and , therefore , she proposed going to Persons to be Heard . She noted that the Board had received copies of the petition which Mr . Farrell had presented for public water and sewer for the Coddington Road area . Mr . William Farrell stated that he had gotten up the petition and that both water and sewer was wanted out Coddington Road as far as the Ccm¢nunity Center , just beyond Updike Road . Everyone signed the petition except three people who just didn ' t want to do anything , they didn ' t want to sign their name , they didn ' t care if water and sewer came but they just didn ' t want to sign their name . Supervisor Raffensperger asked Mr . Farrell if she was right , that his original concern about this was for the extension of sewer on Coddington Road but not past Burns Road? Mr . Farrell replied , where the water district was originally . Councilman Whitcomb asked Mr . Farrell what prompted the petition , at this time ? Mr . Farrell replied , because the people have problems with sewage out there . Everybody said yes , they wanted it . Supervisor Raffensperger stated that she thought the Town Board might want to refer the petition to the Planning Board for their recommendations as far as the planning i om ssues and then ask the Engineering Department for a technical review of the need and what alternatives there are for the extension of water and sewer in the area and the estimated of cost and the number of units . Councilman Niklas asked about a public hearing on this extension , he wondered what would be a ballpark date for a public hearing? Supervisor Raffensperger replied that she did not know if it was possible to get all of this done by the end of the year . It might take longer than that for an assessment by the Engineering Department . Councilman Niklas asked if there was any pressing needs in terms of health that the Board should be aware of . He asked Mr . Farrell if he was happy with the time the process would take ? Mr . Farrell replied that of course he would like to see it sooner . When the water lines were installed , they were told sewer would follow in two years . As far as he was concerned there was a pressing need for sewer after talking to several people . He did not think there were any immediate health problems . Supervisor Raffensperger noted that if the Town Board could get all of these reports in and make a decision that it was a good idea to proceed , we have to apply to Audit & Control for their approval of it and it ' s a process that just goes on for sometime . Unfortunately , it doesn ' t always allow us to take advantage of a good construction season . There really are a lot of steps that have to be gone through . RESOLUTION NO . 92 Motion by Councilman Whitcomb ; seconded by Councilman Niklas , RESOLVED , that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca hereby refer the petition for water and sewer for properties along Coddington Town Board Minutes 11 April 9 , 1990 Road to the Planning Board for their assessment of the planning issues involved in the extension of water and sewer in the area , and FURTHER BE IT RESOLVED , that the technical aspect of this be referred -to the Engineering Department for a report on the need , the alternatives and the estimate of cost . (Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori , Valentino and Niklas voting Aye . Nays - none ) . APPLICATION TO TOMPKINS COUNTY FOR MATCHING GRANTS FUNDS FOR FLOOD CONTROL PROJECTS Supervisors Raffensperger stated that each year Tompkins County provides sane matching funds to municipalities for projects that will help reduce the impact of flooding . The total available to all municipalities in Tompkins County is $ 15 , 000 so this is not a very big source of money but in the past we have received some matching funds . We have a number of projects that we have applied for before and are on the books and perhaps we might recycle sane of those . RESOLUTION N0 . 93 Motion by Councilman Niklas ; seconded by Councilwanan Valentino , RESOLVED , that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca hereby authorize the Town Supervisor to apply to Tompkins County for matching grant funds for flood control . ( Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori , Valentino and Niklas voting Aye . Nays - none ) . REVISED ROAD SPECIFICATION AND SEAR REVIEW Town Highway Superintendent Ozolins stated that Assistant Town Engineer Erik Whitney has canpleted the SEQR Review . Supervisor Raffensperger remarked that there was some discussion as to the appropriateness of doing a SEAR Review on road specifications . She thought it was done because there was a question . A SEQR Review was not done last year when we originally approved most of the specifications that are included in the document . we do have a short environmental assessment form and Erik Whitney ' s comments . She asked the Board if they had any questions on the road specifications themselves ? Highway Superintendent Ozolins noted page 3 , item 5 ( f ) on culverts , those two paragraphs were pulled out of the New York State Standard Specifications . On the next page , paragraphs 6 , 7 and 8 , as far as what type of certification for soils testing agency . The State does not have an agency that certifies these individuals . It ' s not like scme of the labs that do analyses of water , etc . So he added that the agency must have a P . E . on staff to certify the results . He went on to say that those were the two items that the Board had asked for additional information or changes from last month . Town Attorney Barney asked if there were circumstances where the Highway Superintendent wouldn ' t want testing more often than 100 feet? Also , there could be instances where you might want testing less frequently . Town Board Minutes 12 April 9 , 1990 Highway Superintendent Ozolins replied that in most cases the roads are set up in 100 foot intervals and that ' s generally what you shoot them at . Town Attorney Barney suggested the language say normally average every 100 feet . Councilman Niklas remarked that he would suggest it say , test locations will normally average one site per 100 feet of roadway . Town Attorney Barney suggested a change on page 6 under landscaping where the wording says " shall be granted by the Town Planner " he felt that this was almost compelling to grant approval . He felt it should read , " the Town Planner shall be the Town Officer from whom approval shall be obtained" . Town Planner Beeners remarked that the list annexed to the specifications , she stated that she had a problem with Canada Yew being listed as salt resistant . Councilman Niklas agreed that that was correct , Canada Yew is not a salt resistant shrub . It was agreed that Canada Yew be removed from the list . Councilwoman Valentino stated that she had a problem on page 2 , with street and road widths . She felt they were so totally arbitrary , there doesn ' t seem to be any leeway for perhaps some developments where narrow roads might be preferable . Looking at some of the creative developments that we have seen some of the roads are quite a bit narrower than this and they function very well . By always having 60 ' you are using up a lot of land , as in cluster housing . Supervisor Raffensperger noted that the Board had discussed this before . She asked the Highway Superintendent to respond . Highway Superintendent Ozolins replied that 60 ' , that right now is the measurement for the road right-of-way that we are currently under . By State law the road has to be 3 rods minimum which is 5010 The closer you get the road the more problems you have getting the ditches back away from the road . If a developer wants to put a median in there , ditches and/or a walkway you have to have roan to do that , so if you want to do all these other items that ' s okay but there has to be land in there . If you have a ditch that I s on somebody elses property , we have problems when the ditch is totally within the right-of-way . Supervisor Raffensperger stated that it was her recollection that while we may require a 60 ' right-of way , this does not require that that the right-of-way be all paved or all be used for road purposes . Councilman Niklas remarked , within what is permitted by State law the applicant could go to the Planning Board , grant a waiver and the applicant could go before the ZBA to require something that is smaller . Councilman Liguori remarked that he had seen a lot of roads that were built by subdividers that were less than 50 ' and the people on those roads would love to have the Town take them over but one of the reasons you can ' t is because they are undersized . Town Attorney Barney remarked that the Subdivision Regulations right now require a 60 ' width so this is consistent with that but also , in terms of getting a variance he did not think there was any Town Board Minutes 13 April 9 , 1990 authority at this juncture for anybody to vary these requirements other than the Town Board and he felt this would take a special resolution because you are setting up specifications for highway construction and he did not see anyway that the ZBA could accept something different . Councilman Niklas remarked that the Town Attorney had answered his question and that he now agreed with Councilwoman Valentino that perhaps the Board might want to explore something that would provide a reasonable latitude within the confines of State law . Town Engineer Walker remarked that the 60 ' right-of-way does not necessarily mean that the entire right-of-way would be paved . He stated that he felt , as an engineer , that the 60 ' right-of-way was critical not only for road construction and proper drainage but also for Town related facilities . The 60 ' right-of-way does not have to be totally disturbed but the 60 ' gives the Town the right to install water and sewer without land rights issued down the road . You could end up damaging private property . Councilwoman Valentino remarked , if your paved area is 10 ' and your right-of-way is 60 ' you would still be in your right-of-way for utilities . Councilman Whitcomb remarked , your paved area is 10 ' times 2 or 20 ' . Councilwoman Valentino stated that she still was not convinced because she had seen these roads in other ways and she thought if the Board had seen the video they saw in New York City . If you have 20 ' of highway and you have a fire truck coming down , that fire truck doesn ' t need to stay in the 10 ' , when you see emergency vehicles moving through the City they are telling everybody to get out of the way and they are using up all the paved area there is and that becomes a totally different situation than your day to day travel on a road . Based on what little leeway there are with variances , etc . , that this language is so limiting that there is no possibility of having any variations to that that might be desirable . Town Attorney Barney asked , how about if we add a provision authorizing the Town Board to grant waivers ? Waivers to these specification may be granted upon application to the Town Board . Supervisor Raffensperger asked Councilwoman Valentino if this would relieve some of her concerns ? Councilwoman Valentino replied yes , it leaves the door open . Town Attorney Barney stated that he had some proposed language for an amendment to the Road Specifications . He suggested that a new "E " be inserted at the end entitled , "Waivers " , waivers from any of these specifications , to the extent permitted by other laws and unless specifically delegated to a Town Officer earlier in these specifications , shall be granted only by the Town Board . Highway Superintendent Ozolins remarked , your comments as far as the road width the right-of-way , depending upon the situation , how deep you have to go for shoulders and other things he stated that he had no concern with that but was the Board looking at somewhere down the line having a road with a single lane width of less than 10 ' ? Councilwoman Valentino replied that she had not thought about that . i Town Board Minutes 14 April 9 , 1990 Highway Superintendent Ozolins replied that some things he could give or take but as far as a minimum road width of 10 he would fight tooth and nail . SEQR RESOLUTION N0 . 94 Motion by Councilman Liguori , seconded by Councilwcman Valentino , RESOLVED , that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca hereby declares a negative environmental impact with regard to the proposed Road Construction Specifications for the Town of Ithaca . ( Raffensperger , Whitccmb , Leary , Klein , Liguori , Valentino and Niklas voting Aye . Nays - none ) . ROAD CONSTRUCTION SPECIFICATIONS RESOLUTION NO . 95 Motion by Councilman Klein , seconded by Councilman Whitcomb , RESOLVED , that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca hereby approve the Road Construction Specifications for the Town of Ithaca as revised . (Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori , Valentino and Niklas voting Aye . Nays - none ) . PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER AMENDING LOCAL LAW # 2 , 1987 , INCREASING THE UPPER LIMITS OF THE SLIDING SCALE EXEMPTION FOR REAL PROPER'T'Y OWNED By PERSONS WITH LIMITED INCOMES WHO ARE 65 YEARS OF AGE OR OVER AND CHANGING THE DATE OF APPLICATION Proof of posting and publication of a notice of public hearing to consider a local law amending Local Law #2 , 1987 , increasing the upper limits of the sliding scale exemption for real property owned by persons with limited incomes who are 65 years of age or over and changing the date of application having been presented by the Town Clerk , the Supervisor opened the public hearing . As no one present wished to speak for or against the proposed amendment to Local Law #2 , 1987 , the Supervisor closed the public hearing . LOCAL LAW N0 . 4 - 1990 Motion by Councilman Niklas ; seconded by Councilman Liguori , A LOCAL LAW INCREASING THE PARTIAL TAX EXEMPTION FOR REAL PROPERTY OWNED BY PERSONS WITH LIMITED INCOMES WHO ARE 65 YEARS OF AGE OR OVER AND EXTENDING TO THE END OF THE CALENDAR YEAR THE TIME WITHIN WHICH TO TURN AGE 65 SECTION 1 . The provisions of Local Law No . 1 of the year 1971 of the Town of Ithaca as amended by Local Law No . 2 of the year 1977 , Local Law No . 5 of the year 1980 , Local Law No . 2 of the year 1982 , Local Law No . 4 of the year 1983 , and Local Law No . 2 of the year 1987 , are hereby further amended to read as follows . Town Board Minutes 15 April 9 , 1990 Section 1 . This law is enacted pursuant to Section 467 of the Real Property Tax Law of the State of New York as amended through Chapter 588 of the Laws of 1989 . Section 2 . Pursuant to the provisions of Section 467 of the Real Property Tax Law of the State of New York , real property located in the Town of Ithaca , owned by one or more persons , each of when is, 65 years of age or over , or real property owned by husband and wife , one of whom is 65 years of age or over , shall be partially exempt from taxation by said Town for the applicable taxes specified in said Section 467 based upon the income of the owner or combined incomes of the owners . A person otherwise qualifying for such exemption shall not be denied such exemption if such person becomes sixty-five ( 65 ) years of age after the appropriate taxable status date and before December 31 of the same year . Such partial exemption shall be to the extent set forth in the schedule following : ANNUAL INCOME OF OWNER PERCENTAGE ASSESSED OR COMBINED ANNUAL INCOME VALUATION EXEMPT OF OWNERS FROM TAXATION Up to $ 12 , 025 . 00 50 % More than $ 12 , 025 . 00 but less than $ 12 , 625 . 00 45% $ 12 , 625 . 00 or more but less than $ 13 , 225 . 00 40 % $ 13 , 225 . 00 or more but less than $ 13 , 825 . 00 35 % $ 13 , 825 . 00 or more but less than $ 14 , 425 . 00 30% $ 14 , 425 . 00 or more but less than $ 15 , 025 . 00 25% $ 15 , 025 . 00 or more but less than $ 15 , 625 . 00 20 % This partial exemption provided by this law shall , however , be limited to such property and persons as meet the conditions , qualification , exclusions and limitations set forth in Section 467 of the Real Property Tax Law of the State of New York . This local law shall be administered in accordance with said section of the Real Property Tax Law as now adopted and as it may be amended from time to tame , and the provisions of said section shall be applicable to the effectuation of the exemption provided for in this local law . Section 3 . Application for such exemption must be made by the owner , or all of the owners of the property on forms prescribed by the State Board of Equalization and Assessment of the State of New York ( or any successor agency) to be furnished by the appropriate assessing authority and shall furnish the information and be executed in the manner required or prescribed in such forms , and shall be filed in such assessor ' s office on or before the appropriate taxable status date . Section 4 . Any conviction of having made any willful false statement of the application for such exemption shall be punishable by a fine of not more than One Hundred Dollars ( $ 100 . 00 ) and shall disqualify the applicant or applicants from further exemption for a period of five ( 5 ) years . Town Board Minutes 16 April 9 , 1990 Section 5 . This local law shall become effective as set forth below and shall apply to assessment rolls prepared on the basis of taxable status dates occurring on or after March 1 , 19910 With respect to assessment rolls prepared on the basis of taxable status dates prior to March 1 , 1991 , the partial exemption allowed hereunder shall be limited to qualified properties , to those persons otherwise qualified under , and to the amounts permitted by , Local Law No . 1 of the year 1971 and its amendments as in effect from time to time prior to the effective date of this local law . SECTION 2 . This local law shall take effect twenty days after its enactment or upon its filing with the office of the Secretary of State , whichever is later . Supervisor Raffensperger called for a roll call vote . Councilman Klein Voting Aye Councilwoman Leary Voting Aye Councilman Liguori Voting Aye Councilman Niklas Voting Aye Councilwoman Valentino Voting Aye Councilman Whitcomb Voting Aye Supervisor Raffensperger Voting Aye Local Law No . 4 - 1990 was thereupon declared duly adopted . PARTICIPATION IN CORNELL SUMMER JOB NETWORK RESOLUTION NO . 96 Motion by Councilman Whitcomb ; seconded by Councilman Niklas , WHEREAS , there is a need for additional skilled employees during the summer months in Engineering and Planning Departments , and WHEREAS , the Town of Ithaca has an opportunity to participate in the Cornell Summer Job Network ( formerly Cornell Tradition) , whereby Cornell students can work for the Town in jobs relevant to their course of study , and the Town would be reimbursed for 50 % of their salaries , THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED , that approval is hereby given by the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca for the Town to employ 4 students through the Cornell Summer Job Network in the following areas . Planning Aide - Planning Department - salary : $ 6 . 00 - $ 7 . 00 /hr . to be charged to account B8020 . 10 - Planning Services . (Funds were included in the 1990 budget for this purpose . ) 2 positions . Engineering Aids - Engineering Department - salary : $ 6 . 00 - $7 . 00 /hr . to be charged to account A1440 . 100 - Engineering Personal Services . ( Funds were included in the 1990 budget for this purpose . ) 2 positions . Period of employment : May 17 , 1990 to August 22 , 19900 (Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori , Valentino and Niklas voting Aye . Nays - none ) . SOCIAL TRENDS AND OUTLOOK CONFERENCE Town Board Minutes 17 April 9 , 1990 Supervisor Raffensperger noted she had received invitations to attend the Fourteenth Annual Social Trends and Outlook Conference to be held April 30 - May 1 , 1990 , the topic being "Ethics Made Practical : Fairness , Participation , and Power in Local Environmental Decision Making " . She felt that any Town Board members who wished to attend should be authorized to do so . RESOLUTION N0 , 97 Motion by Councilwoman Valentino , seconded by Councilman Liguori , RESOLVED , that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca hereby authorize the attendance by any Town Board member and/or Planning Board member who wishes to attend the Fourteenth Annual Social Trends and Outlook Conference to be held at the Holiday Inn in Ithaca , April 30 - May 1 , 1990 . ( Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori , Valentino and Niklas voting Aye . Nays - none ) . PAYMENT TO THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION FOR OIL SPILL Supervisor Raffensperger remarked that she had an additional agenda item which was the payment to DEC , this is an item which has been circulating around the Town of Ithaca and has to do with the Town of Ithaca ' s liability with regard to some property adjacent to the Highway Department . It was the intention of the Town , she noted as she read the 1990 budget message to have paid these costs last year but because of a need to clarify the legal agreement that was not done . RESOLUTION N0 . 98 Motion by Supervisor Raffensperger ; seconded by Councilwoman Valentino , RESOLVED , that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca hereby authorize the payment of $ 16 , 082 . 41 to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for an oil spill on property located on Seven Mile Drive adjacent to the Highway Facility . ( Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori , Valentino and Niklas voting Aye . Nays - none ) . TOWN OF ITHACA VgRRANTS RESOLUTION N09 99 Motion by Councilman Whitcomb , seconded by Councilwoman Valentino , RESOLVED , that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca hereby approves the Town of Ithaca Warrants dated April 9 , 1990 , in the following amounts : General Fund - Town Wide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 601? 120 . 74 General Fund - Outside Village . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 46 , 526 . 26 Highway Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 38 , 384 . 25 Water & Sewer Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 336 , 279 . 77 Capital Projects Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 7 , 400 . 00 Lighting Districts Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 459 . 10 Town Board Minutes 18 April 9 , 1990 (Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori , Valentino and Niklas voting Aye . Nays - none ) . BOLTON POINT WARRANTS RESOLUTION N0 , 100 Motion by Supervisor Raffensperger ; seconded by Councilman Klein , RESOLVED , that the Bolton Point Warrants dated April 9 , 1990 , in the Operating Account are hereby approved in the amount of $ 92 , 950 . 75 after review and upon the recommendation of the Southern Cayuga Lake Intermunicipal Water Commission , they are in order for payment . ( Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori , Valentino and Niklas voting Aye . Nays - none) . PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER AMENDING THE TRAFFIC ORDINANCE TO AUTHORIZE A YIELD SIGN ON DATES DRIVE AND A STOP SIGN TO REPLACE THE YIELD SIGN AT STONE QUARRY AND WEST KING ROADS Proof of posting and publication of a notice of public hearing to consider amending the traffic ordinance to authorize a yield sign on Dates Drive and a stop sign to replace the yield sign at Stone Quarry and West King Roads having been presented by the Town Clerk , the Supervisor opened the public hearing . Councilman Whitcomb remarked that he knew what the people on Stone Quarry Road were trying to accomplish by putting a stop sign there and that was to slow down traffic , they think they roll through the yield sign to fast . Can we authorize or request the Town Highway Superintendent to after a certain period of time to make a study of traffic at this corner to see if there are any problems being caused by a stop sign there rather than a yield sign? Highway Superintendent Ozolins replied , such as . . . . . . . . Councilman Whitcomb replied , go ahead and change the sign from a yield sign . to a stop sign but he wanted to know if there was going to be a problem with traffic backing up there during bad weather . Being able to start up the incline when the roads are bad and those kind of things . Councilman Liguori remarked that he thought the Board should know, if as a result of this kind of action , what the ultimate impact of that will be . Are we down grading the value of a yield sign to where everybody will ask that a yield sign be changed to a stop sign and if so , what will be gained and what have we lost ? Highway Superintendent Ozolins replied that there were other considerations , from the Uniform Traffic and Control Device manual they state a stop and yield sign are not supposed to be used to regulate the traffic speed . Also , if traffic can proceed through the intersection at 10 MPH or above a yield sign is applicable , less than 10 MPH then it has to be a stop sign . As no one present wished to speak for or against the proposed amendment , the Supervisor closed the public hearing . RESOLUTION NO , 101 Motion by Councilwoman Valentino ; seconded by Councilwoman Leary , Town Board Minutes 19 April 9 , 1990 Pursuant to Section 130 of Town Law of the State of New York and Section 1660 of the Vehicle and Traffic Law of the State of New York , the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca , Tompkins County , New York , does ordain and enact as follows . Section 1 . Territory affected . This ordinance shall be applicable to all territory within the Town of Ithaca outside of the incorporated Village of Cayuga Heights . Section 20 Amending of Prior Ordinance . The ordinance amending and restating ordinance regulating traffic and parking in the Town of Ithaca adopted February 8 , 1968 , effective February 23 , 1988 , amended April 11 , 1988 , November 10 , 1988 , July 10 , 1989 , and August 7 , 1989 , is hereby further amended as follows : ( a) There is hereby added to the list on Schedule A dealing with stop signs the following entry : "On Stone Quarry Road at King Road West " . (b) There is hereby added to the list on Schedule B dealing with yield signs the following entry : "On the access road leading behind the Biggs Complex and Tompkins County Hospital at its intersection with Harris B . Dates Drive " . ( c ) The list of yield signs on Schedule B is further amended by deleting the following entry : "On Stone Quarry Road at King Road West " . Section 3 . Effective Date . This ordinance shall be effective 10 days after publication and posting in accordance with Section 133 of the Town Law . Supervisor Raffensperger called for a roll call vote . Councilman Klein Voting Aye Councilwoman Leary Voting Aye Councilman Liguori Voting Aye Councilman Niklas Voting Aye Councilwoman Valentino Voting Aye Councilman Whitcomb Voting Aye Supervisor Raffensperger Voting Aye The Ordinance was duly adopted . RESOLUTION N0 . 102 Motion by Councilman Whitcomb ; seconded by Councilman Niklas , RESOLVED , that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca hereby instruct the Highway Superintendent to evaluate the safety and the effect on the traffic flow of the stop sign on Stone Quarry Road and King Road , West ,. Such evaluation to be completed within six months . (Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori , Valentino and Niklas voting Aye . Nays - none ) . Town Board Minutes 20 April 9 , 1990 PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER A LOCAL LAW AMENDING TOWN OF ITHACA FOCAL LAW # 1 , 1981 TO PROVIDE FOR THE ISSUANCE OF TEMPORARY CERTIFICK17ES OF OCCUPANCY Proof of posting and publication of a notice of public hearing to consider a local law amending Town of Ithaca Local Law # 1 , 1981 to provide for the issuance of temporary certificates of occupancy having been presented by the Town Clerk , the Supervisor opened the public hearing . Supervisor Raffensperger noted that temporary certificates of occupancy are presently permitted but this local law will allow the Town to charge for them . Bill Hilker , Burns Road stated that he was not concerned with the issuance of the temporary certificate , he felt this was necessary but he was wondering why the charge for it ? Supervisor Raffensperger replied , because of the time that is involved with the staff processing those temporary certificates . There have been occasions where we have had to issue a series of temporary certificates which is - very expensive from the point of view of the staff time that is needed to do that . As no one else in the public wished to speak , the Supervisor closed the public hearing . Councilwoman Valentino questioned Section ( h ) , she asked if this did not mean that someone could keep on renewing the temporary certificate ? Councilman Niklas remarked that each renewal would require a re-evaluation of the situation . He asked if there was some way to give some reasonable cap or a statement that this will go before the Zoning Board of Appeals so that issuance of these temporary certificates doesn ' t go on forever . Town Attorney Barney replied , we could put that in but he did not think the Building Inspector would reissue it unless bonified action was being taken towards removing the violation . The Town Board can always over rule . SEQR RESOLUTION N0 , 103 Motion by Councilwoman Valentino ; seconded by Councilman Niklas , RESOLVED , that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca hereby declares a negative environmental impact pertaining to Local Law # 5 , 1990 . (Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori , Valentino and Niklas voting Aye . Nays - none ) . LOCAL LAW NO . 5 - 1990 Motion by Councilman Niklas , seconded by Councilman Whitcamb , LOCAL LAW NO . 5 - 1990 A LOCAL LAW TO AMEND TOWN OF ITHACA LOCAL LAW NO . 1 FOR THE YEAR 1981 AS SUBSEQUENTLY AMENDED TO PROVIDE FOR THE ISSUANCE OF TEMPORARY CERTIFICATES OF OCCUPANCY Town Board Minutes 21 April 9 , 1990 Local Law No . 1 of the Town of Ithaca for the year 1981 entitled "A Local Law to adopt the New York State Fire Code " as amended by Local Law No . 14 for the year 1987 is further amended as follows . Section 1 . Section 5 . C . 2 . of said Local Law as amended is hereby deleted and a new Section 5 . C . 2 . is inserted reading as follows : 5 . C . 2 . Upon request , the Building Inspector may issue a temporary certificate of occupancy for a building or structure , or part thereof , pending completion of the work and before the entire work covered by a building permit has been completed upon the conditions and limitations set forth below . ( a) Before issuing a temporary certificate of occupancy the Building Inspector must find ( i ) the portion or portions of the work for which the certificate is sought may be used or occupied temporarily without endangering life , property or the public welfare , and ( ii ) practical difficulties exist in completing the building to the point where the building would qualify for a permanent certificate of occupancy because of (A) construction delays resulting from ( 1 ) unfavorable and unusually difficult weather conditions , or ( 2 ) inability to timely obtain materials , or ( 3 ) other conditions found by the Building Inspector to warrant early occupancy , or ( B) the need to occupy the premises before a building qualifies for a permanent certificate of occupancy is related to the normal seasonal occupancy dates ( e . g . , late August when the community has the normal influx of University related residents , or (C) any other reason found by the Building Inspector to be appropriate for the issuance of such temporary certificate . (b) The granting of a temporary certificate of occupancy is solely within the discretion of the Building Inspector and no applicant shall have a right to same . (c ) In addition to the conditions on such certificates impose by this local law, the Building Inspector amy impose such conditions on the issuance of such certificates as the Building Inspector may reasonably require to protect the health , safety and welfare of the public including the persons that may be in or around the building or structure being partially occupied . Such conditions may also include the requirement that the applicant post security in the form of a bond , cash , or letter of credit with the Town to assure that the building or Town Board Minutes 22 April 9 , 1990 structure for which a temporary certificate of occupancy is sought will be fully completed and qualify for a permanent certificate of occupancy for the entire building within a stated period of time , or will be vacated if not such certificate is obtained within such period of time , such security to be available to the Town to enable the Town to bring an action to enjoin continued occupancy in the absence of a permanent certificate and to take such other steps as may be reasonably necessary or appropriate to protect the public health and welfare . (d) If the Town Board , in its discretion , deems the granting of the temporary certificate of occupancy inappropriate , the Town Board may overrule the Building Inspector in which event the temporary certificate shall terminate 30 days after its issuance or 15 days after the decision overruling the Building Inspector , whichever is later . (e ) The issuance of temporary certificate of occupancy does not relieve the applicant from fulfilling any and all requirements not yet completed at the date of the issuance of the temporary certificate of occupancy . ( f) Issuance of a temporary certificate of occupancy is not to be construed as a determination that a final certificate of occupancy will be automatically issued . ( g) In addition to the Town Board ' s privilege of revoking the temporary certificate of occupancy , it may also be revoked by the Building Inspector at any time under one or more of the following circumstances ( i ) The Building Inspector becomes aware of a condition which presently endangers , or in the future may , endanger life , health , property , or the public welfare , including the health or welfare of any persons in or around the premises subject to the temporary certificate . ( ii ) The Building Inspector determines in his judgment that the applicant is not proceeding diligently and properly to complete whatever work remains in order to obtain a permanent certificate of occupancy . ( iii ) The Building Inspector becomes aware of information not previously submitted or available that makes issuance of a temporary certificate of occupancy reasonably inappropriate or inadvisable . ( iv) The Building Inspector determines the existence of any other circumstance which reasonably requires the revocation of the certificate . (h) The temporary certificate of occupancy shall be issued for such period as the Building Inspector may elect , but not in any event to exceed six months . i Town Board Minutes 23 April 9 , 1990 However , the Building Inspector may renew the certificate for one or more successive periods of not more than six months per application upon payment of a fee calculated as if each application were an application for the original issuance of such a temporary certificate . ( i ) A temporary certificate of occupancy can also be granted by the Building Inspector in those circumstances not involving new construction where a violation of the Zoning Ordinance or other rule or regulation becomes apparent to the Building Inspector , the owner or other person in possession is taking action (either by construction or by application for an appropriate variance ) to correct the violation , and the issuance of the temporary certificate of occupancy will not endanger life , health , property , or the public welfare . The issuance of a temporary certificate of occupancy under these circumstances and the right to revoke same are governed by the same provisions relating to the issuance of a temporary certificate of occupancy based upon construction pursuant to a building permit . ( j ) The fees for issuance of a temporary certificate of occupancy are as follows : (A) If there is no new construction involved requiring a building permit , the fee is $25 . 00 . (B) If the temporary certificate of occupancy is issued in connection with construction for which a building permit is required , the fee for issuance of the temporary certificate of occupancy shall be one-half of the fee for the building permit but in any event not less than $ 25 . 00 Section 2 . In the event any portion of this local law is declared invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction , the validity of the remaining portions shall not be affected by such declaration of invalidity . Section 3 . This Local Law shall take effect upon its filing with the Secretary of State or twenty days after its adoption whichever is later . Supervisor Raffensperger called for a roll call vote . Councilman Klein Voting Aye Councilwoman Leary Voting Aye Councilman Liguori Voting Aye Councilman Niklas Voting Aye Councilwoman Valentino Voting Aye Councilman Whitcomb Voting Aye Supervisor Raffensperger Voting Aye Local Law No . 5 - 1990 was declared duly adopted . Town Board Minutes 1 24 April 9 , 1990 PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER A LOCAL LAW TO PROVIDE FOR THE ISSUANCE OF FOUNDATION BUILDING PERMITS Proof of posting and publication of a notice of public hearing to consider a local law to provide for the issuance of foundation building permits having been presented by the Town Clerk , the Supervisor opened the public hearing . As n0 one in the public wished to comment , the Supervisor closed the public hearing . Councilman Niklas suggested some additional wording on page 3 item ( i ) , he felt that after " restored " it should be followed by "at the cost of the applicant " . There is no indication as to who is going to pay for the removal of the foundation and the restoration of the ground and he did not feel it should be a cost to the Town . Town Attorney Barney suggested it just say "by the applicant " . If they default we have unsafe building ordinances that would step in at that time and it would be assessed on their real property taxes . Supervisor Raffensperger remarked , so now we have "must be removed by the owner " . Councilman Niklas remarked , by the applicant . Town Attorney Barney noted , must be removed and restored by the applicant . The Town Attorney then felt it would be better to say the owner instead of the applicant as this is the person we would chase . SEAR RESOLUTION NO , 104 Motion by Supervisor Raffensperger , seconded by Councilman Klein , RESOLVED , that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca hereby declares a negative environmental impact pertaining the matter of the Local Law amending Local Law No . 1 , 1981 , to provide for the issuance of foundation building permits . (Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori , Valentino and Niklas voting Aye . Nays - none ) . LOCAL LAW NO . 6 - 1990 Motion by Councilman Klein ; seconded by Councilman Liguori , A LOCAL LAW TO AMEND TOWN OF ITHACA LOCAL LAW No 1 FOR THE YEAR 1981 AS SUBSEQUENTLY AMENDED TO PROVIDE FOR THE ISSUANCE OF FOUNDATION BUILDING PERMITS Local Law No . 1 of the Town of Ithaca for the year 1981 entitled "A Local Law to Adopt the New York State Fire Code " as amended by Local Law No . 14 of the year 1987 is further amended as follows : Section 1 . A new section 5 . A . 9 . is hereby added reading as follows : 5 . A . 9 . Permits to construct a foundation only in circumstances where it is contemplated that a building will be constructed on the foundation , may be issued in the discretion of the Building Inspector under the following circumstances and subject to the folowing limitations : Town Board Minutes 25 April 9 , 1990 ( a) The circumstances under which foundation permits may be issued are as follows : ( i ) There has been supplied to the Building Inspector plans which , in the Building Inspector ' s judgement , are adequate for him to evaluate and review the proposed construction of the foundation . ( ii ) The applicant provides information satisfactory to the Building Inspector , such as an Engineer ' s or Architect ' s certification , that the foundation will be adequate to carry the load of the proposed permanent structure . ( iii ) The need for the foundation permit is established to the satisfaction of the Building Inspector ( e . g . , onset of adverse weather conditions , immediate availability of masons , proposed construction to be on a fast-track basis , or other reasonable basis for early issuance of a permit for only part of the building) . (b) Issuance of a foundation permit is wholly discretionary with the Building Inspector and the applicant shall have no right to the issuance of same . ( c ) In addition to the conditions on such permits imposed by this local law, the Building Inspector may impose conditions on the issuance of such permits as the Building Inspector may reasonably require to protect the health , safety and welfare of the public including the persons that may be in or around the proposed foundation . Such conditions may also include the requirement that the applicant post security in the form of a bond , cash , or letter of credit with the Town to assure that the foundation will be removed if a building permit for the entire building is not issued within a stated period of time , such security to be available to the Town to enable the Town to restore the premises to their condition prior to the construction of the foundation for which the permit was issued . (d) The issuance of any foundation permit by the Building Inspector may be revoked by the Town Board if , in its discretion , the Town Board determines the issuance of the foundation permit was inappropriate . ( e ) Issuance of a foundation permit does not relieve the applicant from fulfilling any and all requirements for the issuance of a full building permit for the proposed construction . ( f) Issuance of a foundation permit shall not be construed to be a determination that a building permit will be automatically issued for the balance of the structure . ( g) Foundation permits may be revoked at any time by the Building Inspector if the Building Inspector in his discretion ( i ) determines that the foundation will not be adequate to support the balance of the structure ; ( ii ) determines the applicant is not taking proper Precautions to prevent endangering life , health , Town Board Minutes 26 April 9 , 1990 property , or the public welfare in the course of constructing the foundation , ( iii ) determines , in his judgement , that the applicant is not proceeding diligently and properly to provide complete and adequate plans for the issuance of a full building permit . ( iv) becomes aware of information not previously submitted or available that makes issuance of a foundation permit inappropriate or inadvisable . ( v) determines the existence of any other circumstance which reasonably requires the revocation of the permit . (h) If a building permit for the remainder of the building has not been issued within six months of the date of the foundation permit , the foundation permit automatically expires . However , the Building Inspector may renew the permit for one or more successive periods of not more than six months per application upon payment of a fee calculated as if each application were an application for the original issuance of such a permit . ( i ) Upon the revocation or the expiration of a foundation permit without a renewed foundation permit or a building permit for the balance of the building having been issued , the foundation constructed pursuant to the foundation permit must be removed and the ground restored by the owner to substantially the condition it was prior to the commencement of any excavation and construction . ( j ) The fee for the issuance of a foundation permit shall be one-quarter the fee for a building permit , calculated on the estimated full value of the entire building . The fee is not refundable and is not credited against the fee for the building permit for the entire building . In any event the fee shall be not less than $50 . 00 . Section 2 . In the event any portion of this local law is declared invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction , the validity of the remaining portions shall not be affected by such declaration of invalidity . Section 3 . This Local Law shall take effect upon its filing with the Secretary of State or twenty days after its adoption whichever is later . Supervisor Raffensperger called for a roll call vote . Councilman Klein Voting Aye Councilwoman Leary Voting Aye Councilman Liguori Voting Aye Councilman Niklas Voting Nay Councilwoman Valentino Voting Aye Councilman Whitcomb Voting Nay Supervisor Raffensperger Voting Aye Local Law No . 6 - 1990 was thereupon declared duly adopted . EXECUTIVE SESSION f I Town Board Minutes 27 April 9 , 1990 RESOLUTION NO . 105 Motion by Supervisor Raffensperger ; seconded by Councilman Niklas , RESOLVED , that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca hereby moves into Executive Session to discuss the present litigation on the South Hill Recreation Trail . ( Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori , Valentino and Niklas voting Aye . Nays - none) . OPEN SESSION RESOLUTION N0 , 106 Motion by Supervisor Raffensperger ; seconded by Councilman Whitcomb , RESOLVED , that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca hereby moves back into Open Session . ( Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori , Valentino and Niklas voting Aye . Nays - none) . DISCUSSION OF SOUTH HILL TRAIL Supervisor Raffensperger stated that at the last meeting of the Town Board we had a number of people who had been involved in the petition for a referendum on the South Hill Trail come to the Town Board for a discussion of their point of view . She then asked the Town Attorney to discuss the legal position as far as this was concerned but out of the discussion last time , came our determination to have a discussion tonight with an opportunity to have a resolution drawn by the Town Attorney that would be legal . This is primarily for the convenience of Councilman Liguori who wished to present such a resolution last time but because a simple resolution saying let ' s just have a referendum really wouldn ' t do it , she has asked the Town Attorney for Mr . Liguori ' s convenience , to draw a resolution which would rescind the previous resolution of the Town Board establishing the South Hill Trail . She stated that she would give Councilman Liguori that opportunity now, if he wishes to make that motion . Councilman Liguori replied yes , he would like to move that resolution and he appreciated Council preparing it and would move the resolution . Supervisor Raffensperger replied that for the purposes of discussion she would second the motion . She went on to say that she was going to asked John Barney , first of all , to discuss the legal situation as far as the Town is concerned and then she was going to ask the staff to give us a brief description of the trail project because we have new members of the Town Board and perhaps new members of the public also , to this project . Town Attorney John Barney stated that , he thought , as you all know on December 29th of last year the Town Board adopted a resolution subject to permissive referendum which formally established the South Hill Trail and authorized its construction and etc . There was a time period of 30 days within which a petition could be filed by a specified number of residents requesting that that resolution be put to a public referendum . Within the 30 days there was no petition filed . There was one filed , he thought , 36 days after the adoption . The matter was taken to a judge in Supreme Court and Town Board Minutes 28 April 9 , 1990 after an argument and a hearing the judge ruled that the petition was not timely and , therefore , the resolution that you adopted on December 29th was effective and to this day remains effective . If you chose to take action relative to that , and he stated that he should indicate that that decision of the Supreme Court has been appealed and a notice of appeal has been filed by the parties that were seeking to have the petition sustained . That appeal has not yet been heard . Give the present status of the litigation , if you choose to take action to alter your resolution of December 29th it is our recommendation that under Section 94 or 93 of the Town Law that you rescind the prior resolution and then adopt a new resolution specifically making that second resolution subject , not subject to but specifically stating there will be a referendum held on the second resolution and then we would establish a time and place for the referendum and go from there . That sums it up . Supervisor Raffensperger stated that she had asked George Frantz who has been involved in much of the preparation of the materials for the trail to make a short presentation to bring us all a bit up to date on the trail . George Frantz , Assistant Planner replied , essentially the South Hill Trail as been , he guessed , was first formally discussed as part of t71e 1984 updating of the 1975 Park and Open Space Plan for the Town of Ithaca . On July 9 , 1984 the Town Board approved , in concept , this 1984 update of the Park and Open Space Plan which included the proposed South Hill Recreation Way . In May 1988 the Town Board authorized staff to apply for a grant from the State Office of Park , Recreation and Historic Preservation through the Environmental Quality Bond Act program for 50 % funding for construction of the proposed South Hill Recreation Way . The proposal at the time was for an 8 ' wide paved path which would run from Hudson Street in the City to the vicinity of Northview Road and Juniper Drive and westward from Juniper Drive to Coddington Road , A 6 ' wide more natural cinder and gravel paved path would be built from Northview Drive eastward to Burns Road , In December 1988 the Town Board was notified of the award of the Environmental Quality Bond Act grant for $ 48 , 000 , approximately $ 48 , 000 , and it then authorized the Town staff , Town Supervisor and Attorneys to execute the agreement with the State and proceed with the project . In February of ' 89 at the Town Board meeting there was the first consideration of the environmental assessment for the project which is required under SEQR regulations . This meeting began a several month process , several meeting process , of discussion on the design of the trail which included a public informational meeting held at NCR on March 1st 1989 , continued Town Board discussion at its March 13th , and April 10th meetings and then at the April 10th meeting the Town Board approved a negative determination of environmental significance for the project and also because of public concern over the design of the Recreation Way , dictated that staff would prepare design plans for the project for review and approval by the Town Board . On May 23rd there was another public informational meeting where Planning staff presented the proposed design for the Recreation Way . At the June meeting of the Town Board the Recreation Way was once again discussed and the Town Board approved a scaled back design which eliminated almost all of the originally proposed 8 ' wide paved path . In its place the Recreation Way would be a 6 ' wide cinder path from Hudson Street to the base of the hill north of Juniper Drive and then the upper railroad grade would also be a 6 ' wide cinder path its entire length . The section of Hillside between the lower railroad grade and upper railroad grade would be as originally proposed , an 8 ' wide paved path simply in order to control erosion . On August 7 , 1989 , the Town Board held a public hearing to consider the need and location of the Recreation Trail and passed a resolution to that effect . And on November 17th because of possible problems getting permission to use cinders , Town Board Minutes 29 April 9 , 1990 staff recommended that the idea of using cinders for the trail paving be dropped and the current surface design of a 8 ' wide bank run surface seeded to grass was proposed and that was accepted after discussion at the December 11th Town Board meeting . At this point , the project is essentially an 8 ' wide gravel path seeded to grass for most of its length fran Hudson Street to Northview Road . With that paved section on the very steep section of the path between the two railroad grades and then the section of the Recreation Way from Northview Drive eastward to Burns Road continues to be a 6 ' wide unpaved , less improved trail . Mr . Frantz went on to say that the project cost , at this point as authorized in December , is approximately $ 138 , 500 of which approximately $ 70 , 500 is for construction , approximately $ 46 , 800 is for the acquisition of land , $ 8 , 500 approximately for design and administration and then there is a contingency of $ 12 , 700 . Councilman Whitcomb asked , how much of that is State reimbursed? Mr . Frantz replied , the State reimbursement has not changed it is the original grant amount of $ 48 , 763 . Councilman Niklas remarked , so approximately $ 90 , 000 cost to the Town? Mr . Frantz replied yes , he believed it was about $ 88 , 000 . Councilman Whitcomb asked what kind of an effect would that have on the a Town tax rate , have you computed that? Mr . Frantz replied , actually of that cost to the Town for the project , the $ 88 , 000 - $ 90 , 000 , actually about $ 50 , 000 of that is actually the use of Town staff , Town labor and equipment . The actual cash outlay on the part of the Town is in the range of $39 , 000 - $ 40 , 000 . Councilman Niklas remarked that he thought Mr . Frantz had said it was $ 46 , 000 for the acquisition of land . Oh but of course , that involves the . . . . . . . . . . Mr . Frantz . continued , acquisition is approximately $ 46 , 000 , however part of that will be reimbursed by the State . He stated that he had at some point , as far as the impact on the tax rate . given the total assessed valuation of the Town , and Town ' s share of the cost of the Recreation Way it works out to approximately $ . 43 per $ 1 , 000 of evaluation . Councilman Whitccmb replied , that ' s the effect of the cash outlay that you were talking about or the gross ? Mr . Frantz replied , the $ . 43 reflects the total $ 88 , 000 . Councilman Liguori asked , how about the 0 & M costs , the annual costs ? Mr . Frantz replied , the annual costs as far as maintenance ? Councilman Liguori replied , maintenance and operation ? Mr . Frantz replied , that we had calculated at sane point , it ' s . . . . . . the cost was essentially as far as maintenance goes was a weekly mowing for most of it . Possibly a weekly patrol for litter and the like but we were calculating approximately , he stated that he estimated about five hours , he felt they calculated , of Parks Department time per week and then figured that out over the course of a year . Town Board Minutes 30 April 9 , 1990 Councilman Liguori asked if that was the only costs he anticipated? Mr . Frantz replied , that was the maintenance cost , yes . Councilman Liguori continued , some people say that there are no parking facilities , are there parking facilities at either end ? Mr . Frantz replied , there is no off street parking facilities proposed as part of the project . We feel that the number of people who would be arriving to use the Recreation Way by car will be relatively limited . At the request of the City when the portion of the project within the City was reviewed by their Planning and Developwnt Board , we did some research and came up with an estimate that at the most on a busy weekend essentially there might be perhaps twenty cars over the course of a day parked at various entrances to the Recreation Way . But we still do not see more than one or two cars at any one entrance at any one time which is . . . . . . he did not think at this point . . . . . he did not think any more really than what residents have told him they experience right now . So we don ' t see at least any great increase in parking because of the Recreation Way , Councilman Liguori continued , you have concluded then that the park trail will be used primarily by that neighborhood area ? Mr . Frantz replied , yes that is our sense . It is of course a Townwide resource but the major users of the Recreation Way will be the residents of the area . Supervisor Raffensperger asked Mr . Frantz if he had finished his presentation? Mr . Frantz replied , yes . Councilman Niklas asked if he could ask two questions which were related? Supervisor Raffensperger replied , yes . Councilman Niklas replied , some of the objections that he recalled hearing when he was not on the Town Board but sitting out in the audience was the ecological impact of , if you like refurbishing the trail that is already there and he stated that he would like George Frantz or Susan Beeners to comment on what assurances the Town and the people in the Town have that there will be a minimum disturbance and that given enough time some of that natural growth will be allowed to return . The other question that he had , or the other concern he heard mentioned , is that this hike and bike trail might be a corridor for a future road and he would like to know what assurances we can give people who have that concern that that might not be true . Supervisor Raffensperger replied , let me speak to the road question because she had heard that discussed before on the Town Board . She stated that she thought it was fair to say that she was unaware of any plan whatsoever to use that corridor for a road . We could pass a resolution to that effect but what she has really said to people is in a way that is a meaningless thing to do . We have stated our intention that it is not planned to use that corridor for a road . She stated that she could not say twenty years from now another Town Board would not do something else . All that she could speak to was the sense of this Town Board and the one proceeding going back to 1984 who have discussed this Recreation Trail in that area and have always said it was not intended that it would be for a road . i i Town Board Minutes 31 April 9 , 1990 Councilman Niklas replied that he recalled that being said too . He went on to say that this left his one question and that was the ecological consequences of the construction of the hike and bike trail and the extent to which growth would be permitted to re-establish itself after the initial construction episode was finished? Mr . Frantz replied , through the design process of the Recreation Way we have minimized as much as possible the impact . We have limited the area to be cleared to 10 to 12 feet . Councilman Niklas remarked , on either side ? Mr . Frantz replied , total . He thought that in some areas it may have to . . . . . . just for one reason or other , for instance at the Crescent Place entrance it is going to have to be wider there because we have to fill in to make a ramp . At times getting some of the construction equipment in may necessitate slightly wider , in very specific locations . We see , again , as keeping it a maximum of 12 ' wide clearance area throughout the length of the Recreation Way . On the area east of Northview Road again it ' s going to be less developed because , of course , in many areas the existing path is in very good shape and there is very little work to be done . Councilman Niklas asked , what about the altitude corridor , clearing of tree branches and things of that sort . When this thing is fully grown back , what do you envision being the corridor vertically? Mr . Krantz responded that he envisioned , he guessed it would be the forest service standard which if you stand in the middle of the trail and you raise your hands as high as you can and if you touch anything it comes down . It ' s about ten feet . He felt that in many places there would be an overhead canope . It ' s not going to bare to the sky type of thing . Councilman Whitcomb remarked , in 1984 and ' 85 when this was being considered did you say there was indeed a public hearing held at that time ? Supervisor. Raffensperger responded , he said there was a public informational hearing . Mr . Frantz replied yes , it was a public informational hearing . Councilman Whitcomb asked how many public informational meetings were held subsequent to that? He noted two that he could recall in which the public had the opportunity to comment where maps and charts and so on were shown . Councilman Niklas asked if that was the March lst and May 23rd meeting? Mr . Frantz remarked that there were those two meetings but in addition there were several Town Board meetings , the March Town Board meeting and the April one where there was opportunity for public comment and also at the June meeting when the Town Board approved the design . He recalled a lot of public discussion there . Supervisor Raffensperger added , and at the December meeting . Councilman Whitcomb continued saying that one of his recollections was that much of the expense of this trail was the land acquisition , of course , has to do with handicapped access and with the construction of gates and barriers to protect adjacent landowners from trespass , he asked if his recollection was correct? Town Board Minutes 32 April 9 , 1990 Mr . Frantz replied yes , actually the whole reason he felt they had held out for a relatively improved surface , now it ' s the turf grass surface and of course , the paved surface on the hill portion is really to insure as much as possible that this facility is going to be accessible to a broad spectrum of the public including the physically disabled . We ' ve added a ramp at Crescent Place which entails expense that we had not originally anticipated in order to make that entrance accessible to somebody in a wheelchair . As far as gates and barriers and the like , take about $ 8 , 000 of the construction budget . We have the gate at the City watershed to prevent vehicles and bicycles from getting down into the watershed area . The gate at the bottom of Juniper Drive , the gate at the culvert at Northview Road which replaces the existing barrier put up by NYSEG and then there are several hundred feet of fencing which has been included in the design at the request of adjacent landowners . Councilman Niklas remarked , just for clarification , you are saying over 10 % of the total construction cost will be devoted to protecting from trespassing , neighboring properties from trespassing , gates , fencing , etc . Mr . Frantz replied , well that and actually keeping vehicular traffic off the pathway . Councilman Whitcomb remarked that earlier this evening we heard a petition presented to possibly locate a sewer line along Coddington Road for -the residents of Coddington Road . One possible corridor for this sewer line might be the railroad bed area , he asked if that were true ? Mr . Frantz replied that he did not know , that has been raised . Councilman Whitcomb continued , if that were true what impact would that have upon the trail ? Would it have to be torn up or would it . . . . . . can you make any judgement as this time ? Mr . Frantz replied that he did not think they can . It is possible that yes to lay a sewer line on the railroad bed you would have to tear up the recreation way but he would also think it would have to be restored . Councilman Whitcomb remarked , or more likely the sewer line would be layed somewhere within the right-of-way , not on the trail itself but along the upper edge of it . Mr . Frantz replied that he did not know . Councilman Whitcomb continued , saying the second question he had was that he recalled again that there was some discussion about hunting on the trail when we approved it before . Were we going to close the trail during deer season , was that the final decision ? Mr . Frantz replied , yes . Supervisor. Raffensperger remarked , it ' s in the resolution . Councilman Liguori asked if the trail functioned today as a viable trail , the way it is , is it a neighborhood trail today? Mr . Frantz replied that he would say that it ' s a trail for a very limited segment of the population . Councilman Liguori asked , why limited now as opposed to limited tomorrow after its built ? Town Board Minutes 33 April 9 , 1990 Mr . Frantz replied , it ' s limited now because in many places it is extremely muddy , it ' s eroded , it requires hiking boots and the like , it requires you to be physically able to navigate it . Right now people using the portions of it , especially the portions between the two railroad rights-of-way are technically trespassing on private property . It ' s also an extremely rough hike there and its . . . . at this point , it is limited , he thought , to a very small segment of the public . Councilman Liguori continued , you think it will be opened up considerably to the people in the Town? Mr . Frantz replied , yes . Councilman Liguori stated that he had a question for the Attorney . Why did we offer the people an opportunity for a referendum? Does State law require it? Attorney Barney replied that when the resolution was adopted , when you vote to establish a park , this was considered a park for that purpose , State law requires , Town Law but State legislation on Town Law , says that that resolution is subject to a permissive referendum if the petition is filed within 30 days . Supervisor Raffensperger asked if the Board members wanted to cc=- ent any further now or should she ask for some public comment and then input and then come back to the Board . Orlando Iacovelli stated that he would just like to hear the terms of the grant again . George Frantz replied , the grant provides the Town with $ 48 , 763 of State money to be used for this project , part of the conditions of the grant , of course , is that all phases of the project must be completed . Councilman Whitcomb asked if there was any cut off date by which they have to be completed? Mr . Frantz replied that he believed it was two years from the signing of: a contract with the State which has not happened yet . Elliott Lauderdale , 381 Stone Quarry Road stated that he had attended at least 3 / 4 if not 7 / 8 ' s of all the meetings about this recreation way and talked to all of his neighbors and many neighbors that are immediately adjacent to this recreation way and it seemed to him it would be fair to a developer if after having gone through so many hearings , so many public hearings , so many Town meetings and come up and arrived at a compromise that all those people willing to participate through this long process could agree upon to a certain degree , then it seems to be a waste of all of our time to have to start completely over again . A lot of his friends and neighbors would be happy to have this constructed and enjoy this bike and hiking path . Ron Simpson , stated that he lived on South Hill and wanted to say that he did support the trail . Right now he uses the trail regularly and he sees a lot of other users and he thought , given the present condition of the trail people use it at some risk . He stated that he had fallen , a couple of shot gun hunters turned an put their guns , faced them right to him when he was running during hunting season . So he thought really the Town would be doing people a favor by improving the trail and regulating the trail to reduce injury . He went on to say that his second comment was that he thought the Town would really do the community a favor if they would provide incentives for people to get out and jog and to walk Town Board Minutes 34 April 9 , 1990 and to cross country ski in a nice facility . Presently in South Hill there really isn ' t any public recreation space , there isn ' t any and he thought that now we could at least start by providing sane form of active recreation that would litterly tie in for the whole community . The other thing is that the Town has had a vision and this is just part of a network . If we kind of pull back on this what is that going to do to an expanded network of bikeways ? He stated that he knew the Ithaca Bikeway Planning Commission has mentioned there is a serious deficiency of bikeways in the Town and the population is increasing and right now the bikers are out there on the roads . He stated that he has seen injuries of bikers on Coddington Road because the shoulders are in bad shape and we are just going to have more and more automobiles and it ' s going to be less safe . Not only for the bikers and again biking is increasing in popularity , it ' s probably one of the second most growing sports in the county , a lot of bikers around here but joggers are out there too . Ithaca College students constantly run in the road . It ' s a very poor situation as it is . He went on to say that one of the last things was scme of the objections that have been raised . He stated that he knew the Rails to Trails Conservacy is committed to doing sane research studies . Some of the findings have cane in and the findings are very positive , that fears people had about property values about increased crime , they just haven ' t demonstrated to be so by some of the studies . He stated that the last thing he would ask for and that is that if there is to be a referendum on this matter he would like to have it held while Ithaca College is in session because the students are a significant factor or population that use the trail and he thought they ought to be able to vote on this matter as well as sane of the other people in the community . He stated that as he saw it they were the population that is at greatest risk if this is not developed . Monica Novakovic , 384 Coddington Road presented to the Board the following letter : " I am in favor of the South Hill Recreationway for the following reasons : Currently only one small Town park exists on South Hill--the Northview playground and park located off Northview Road West . Creation of the South Hill Recreationway would significantly increase the amount of public parkland in this sector of the Town , and its location and size would make it convenient for and accessible to a great number of local Town residents . Town ownership and control of the trail fran Hudson Street to Burns Road would create a corridor that will be an effective buffer against private development or other encroachment on the reservoir area . Town ownership and control of the trail would give it complete jurisdiction to enact and enforce rules and restrictions for use of the recreationway , as well as provide consistent environmental management of what is a potentially sensitive area . Creation of the recreationway with strategically located access points would improve traffic safety along Coddington Road . Much of the current bicycle and recreational pedestrian traffic using the road could be diverted to the trail . By preventing Town purchase of this property and by allowing the existing trail to remain in its current state , we will expose it to purchase by developers , abuse by incanpatible recreational users , and inconsistent and possibly harmful land management , not to mention the continued hazards to motorists , bicyclists and pedestrians forced to co-exist on Coddington Road . Town Board Minutes 35 April 9 , 1990 I am personally opposed to a referendum on the recreationway at this time . Setting up a referendum would be costly . I also believe that most Town residents are poorly informed about the project , and recent publicity has been mostly negative . Any referendum on the recreationway in the near future would be extremely unfair . If the referendum issue is forced , I strongly suggest that the Town be allowed sufficient time before a ballot to Publish and distribute a complete description of the project including maps if possible , information about the cost of the project and sources of funding , a plan for management and maintenance of the trail ; a list of suggested rules and restrictions for use of the recreationway ; and a description of the location and size of access points to the recreationway and plans for handling vehicles at the access points . In conclusion I believe that this is a project that will have a long-term positive impact for the Town and its residents , and I suggest that we support the members of the Town Board and Planning Board as they plan and undertake development of the South Hill Recreationway . " Yarrow Nelson , 327 King Road stated that he was here as a member of the Ithaca Bicycle Planning Coalition . There has been a lot going on in the last six month , he thought , in the City of Ithaca and also at Cornell trying to get a network of bicycle routes planned for the City and the Town and the college campuses . So he wanted to say a few things about this project . This project is sort of peripheral to the type of network they have been discussing in that it is not totally ideal for bicycles especially with the changes in surface and lack of destination . It ' s specifically a recreation way . But there are a number of reasons why it is still very important to most of the people in the bicycling community and one of those is what one of the previous speakers mentioned which was looking at it in the context of a nationwide rails to trails conversion . There is a lot going on right now, nationwide . The State of Missouri has converted over 200 miles of railroad beds to bicycle trails and he thought it would be terrible to miss an opportunity for the Town to take control of that right-of-way of that railroad bed . He went on to say that he thought we should not postpone that beyond today because we will be missing a golden opportunity that he envisioned eventually this route could connect up with a Statewide network of recreational bikeways . And , more realistically in the short term it will hopefully connect with the current State plans , there is a railroad grade that would connect that route with lower Buttermilk Falls and then Cass Park and hopefully Taughannock and Treman also . He stated that one thing he really wanted to say was that we really need to build this path in context with a larger bicycle network . He thought the point about parking along the route was a good point , he thought that if this was going to be a bicycle route we need to have a safe way for bicyclists to get to this path and so he thought it would not be right to stop with this project and not continue to look at providing safe bicycle facilities on many of the major roadways in the Town of Ithaca and he encouraged the Town to work with the County on that to try to get same bike lanes put in . One last thing , in terms of sere of the press that he has heard about the project in terms of residents along the route being opposed to the project , he stated that he was sort of surprised about that and he couldn ' t understand why people living along the route would be so opposed to the project . He stated that if he lived on that route he would be thrilled , he could jump on his bike and get to work with out having to tackle all the traffic . It has been shown by trails people that property values increase by about loo when a bike route like this is put in , or when a recreation way like this Town Board Minutes 36 April 9 , 1990 is put in and you can see why because the potential buyer is going to look at that as an asset to the property . He stated that he knew that if he was looking at property that would be sanething that he would strongly consider . Lastly , he felt it was real important to keep that right-of-way open to the public and he thought it: was a beautiful trail the way it is now , he has hiked it himself several times , it beautiful but he did not know how long we can expect: to keep it and he felt we needed sane insurance , and he thought the Town needed to own the right-of-way on that trail . Aafke Steenhius , 266 Pennsylvania Avenue stated that she was the mother of a large family , she had nine children and daily they use the trail because her street has just about all student housing and it is too dangerous for her children to walk in the street . So her four elementary school children in kindergarden , first , second and third grade , have to walk on the tracks to get to school because it is simply not safe . The middle and high schoolers also use the tracks just about daily , they run on it , they jog on it and for them it is not just recreation it is for them a necessity . And that is why she was all in favor just for the safety of the children . Nancy Soreng , 275 Burns Road read the following letter , signed by Robert and Nancy Soreng "We are writing to register our support of development of the South Hill Recreationway . When we purchased our home at 275 Burns Road in May of 1989 , we were under the impression that improvement of the existing path had been approved by the Town Council . Our house is the closest residence to the trail head on Burns Road , and although increased use of the trail could cause additional foot and bike traffic near our have as well as additional cars parked along the road , we believe that the benefits out-weigh the disadvantages . Despite the fact that neither Coddington nor Burns Road have adequate shoulder space , they are consistently used by joggers , walkers and bicyclers year round . This is extremely hazardous to these people as well as to the motorists who have to go around them daily . In addition to the safety factor , we feel that local governments have an obligation to plan for the future of their cc munities . In a time of dwindling energy resources and pollution of our environment by motorized vehicles , we have a responsibility to provide safe , efficient routes throughout our town where people can and will use alternate forms of transportation . The existing trail is narrow, muddy , and full of ruts , yet it gets a lot of use by hikers and cross country skiers . If it is improved to make it safe for bicycling and joggers , we have no doubt that it will be utilized extensively for recreation as well as an alternate transportation route . Although sane South Hill residents have been very vocal in their opposition to the recreationway , we know many who are in support of it . We do agree that increased traffic on the trail could be an inconvenience for sane of us who live near it . However , if we only look at what is ideal for our own back , (or front) yards and not what will benefit the ccmmmity as a whole , we will miss an opportunity to improve the quality of life in Ithaca . " Louise Mudrak , 693 Coddington Road stated that she owned and lived on land that adjoins the railroad bed and we enjoy its use nearly every day and that was her husband , herself and her children . We feel strongly that in fact the Town government has followed due process in moving forward with the plan for this trail . We ' re supportive of the trail , we are very supportive of it . We feel Town Board Minutes 37 April 9 , 1990 that the number of public hearings and public meetings and sharing of information and the willingness of Board members to talk about it has been in accord with due process and just fine and we feel that at this time a referendum which would probably cost the Town $ 5 , 000 or $6 , 000 is , in fact , a waste of taxpayers money . We feel that people have had a lot of chance for due input . one of the primary feelings that she has is that we are all neighbors , we all have different feelings , we want this to happen on the trail , we want that to happen on the trail , but in point of fact she felt the bottom line is that we should not take the continued existence of the railroad grade for granted , which she felt they were intended to do , and our feeling is that the purchase of that entire NYSEG corridor actually all the way through to the Townline should be a prime priority for the Town at this time . If we are saying we want snowmobiles , we don ' t want snowmobiles , some want hiking , some want biking and so if we defeat the whole thing she was not at all confident that the railroad bed will not be turned over to private landowners who want corridors across it from the front to the back . Then where would we all be , we would all be niggling about how we are going to be riding our bikes around the little flat patch at the Coddington Road Comamunity Center . Furthermore , she thought that where she lived the . . . . . they wrote before and she had surgery and couldn ' t come but we favored the path as it has been redesigned , it ' s much more of an ambling sort of path and we are concerned about wild life and all that kind of thing before and she thought the new plan sounded a lot better . She went on to say that the concern she had also is the existing role the railroad bed is playing in decent watershed management has not been mentioned and she felt it was playing a key role . We have a little corridor that comes by our house and it ' s a little ditch which has a lot of water running in it and in the spring and the summer , unfortunately , there is a lot of sewage odor that cotes through there . Now , that little ditch goes along and comes up into the railroad grade where the infrastructure of the railroad grade throughout most of it is still sound but a little wetland forms there and the stuff sort of perks through . And then on the down side of this , the same little poopie little creek is 35 ' deep and this curves in at least four or five different places that she sees as she walks along the grade and she just wondered if we are overlooking a major role that this railroad is playing right now . She stated that she did think there had been sane culverts that have subsided and you see some little dips along the surface of the trail itself but she thought the Town Board ought to acquire it and ought to be really thinking very hard about the environmental role that it is playing in watershed management as well . She went on to say that she thought all of the other things that she had to say have been said . She thought that regarding a management plan , however , there have been some things proposed and she stated that she felt that none of us have ever operated it as a trail and seen what the use was and she thought the Town Board and the management plan has got to remain flexible and people have got to understand that and so it should to be evaluated after a year , a couple seasons of use and she would hope that the Town , and she had confidence they would be willing to change it , and that this process could be continued with Town residents as they use it . We might want to complain about it whereas we think it is a grand idea now she was sure if they had some minor suggestions , like Nancy had for a park , she thought they could all manage to get along and use it in great accord and it would be a great thing . David Carr , 674 Coddington Road stated that he had been here a couple of times and as we have all heard numerous reasons have been presented why , pro and con , and he agreed with some and as most everyone here knows , he was opposed to the trail . What he thought it was getting down to now was the issue in the procedure that the Town has taken in the past . He thought they were mislead by the Town Board Minutes 38 April 9 , 1990 previous administration , now we won ' t get into the politics of it but it was quite low keyed at sometimes and a lot of people were aware of what was happening even people adjacent to the proposed trail . He stated that he was wondering why . . . . . he still hopes this canes to referendum . Mrs . Mudrak pointed out poopie little creeks , it concerns him to think we would go ahead and build a bike trail and then possibly in the near future , which he believed Mr . Farrell has presented a petition and he felt the Engineer was , he felt , quite aware of the situation of how it would possibly have to be constructed . Back to the various reasons for the pro and con for the trail , he guessed we might be jumping ahead of ourselves . He stated that he could not really say that he could not live with the bicycle trail but he would like to see it done in an orderly fashion and possibly in a democratic fashion . For scene reason , he had never seen . . . . he had never been to a public hearing , he had been to public informational meetings , he hasn ' t been shown in writing where there ever was a public hearing on the trail . He thought certain members of the Board in the past , he was not pointing any fingers because possibly they are not even here , have been negligent in the way they railroaded this thing through . He stated that he believed we all , even though he has lived there for close to fifty years , we all have to live with what is coming . Development , he was not opposed to development , development is across the road from him, he was not in favor of it . He just wondered if we were not taking the wrong steps at this time . He knew we had discussed it for a very long time and supposedly it has had bad press but he hadn ' t read too much bad press about it . He thought it had been presented fairly reasonably . Not on his behalf , by any means . And , he thought that all he could ask tonight is that you people who have been elected consider this situation , consider the petition that was declared invalid which still had the minimum percent of voters on it by the past years elections and let ' s take it to referendum and see what the townspeople want . Taughannock Boulevard is another case where the bike trail also wants to go from Cass Park to Taughannock Park . There was a short article in the paper a few months ago about that , there were numerous residents that voiced opposition to it in that direction and he felt that should be taken into consideration . Again , as he had said at the last meeting , somebody out there is trying to say something and he understood all the bikers , the joggers and the Coddington Road situation is hazardous but he stated that he did feel we should provide a trail for Ithaca College joggers . And he certainly would like to see the individual who pointed a gun at that gentleman because he hunts down there all the time and he hopes it is no acquaintance of his . But , in summary let ' s give it some careful thought because he would hate to see it built and then have to put a sewer line in , so that all that poopie creek water doesn ' t run down by Mrs . Mudrak ' s house any mare . Bill Hilker , 277 Burns Road stated that he would just like to reiterate his opposition to the trail . He felt that any project of this size and magnitude that is aimed at a minority section of the Town ought to go to a referendum so that the Town ' s people themselves could decide whether this is the way the taxpayers ' money should be spent for the benefit of a few and particularly a large part of those few being Ithaca College students at the expense of the Town of Ithaca . He stated that he hadn ' t seen anything where Ithaca College has proposed to help fund a trail of this nature . So he can ' t see that Ithaca College ' s input is really that serious to have samething for their joggers to be on . As far as the trail is concerned itself , it really isn ' t as one gentleman has already said , designed to be a good place for bikers to be . He stated that he was not sure how many people would actually jog on it down there where they are jogging through the shrubbery and the bush and woods , the safety factor for the joggers is quite limited Town Board Minutes 39 April 9 , 1990 actually , there is nothing to insure their safety as well as the residents safety as far as people coming off the trail which is a minor concern of ours . He thought that particularly , and he hesitated saying this , but women like to jog where they are totally visible , we have had too many cases in central New York where jogging visibility is not insured to the jogger and has resulted in some serious incidents . And , he wondered how many people on that basis alone would not use this type of a setting to jog . He stated that he had very serious reservations about the trails total usage for a few people and not for the majority and definitely not for the residents of our area and as you can see the petition we did present covered predominately all but a handful of the local people who were not favorable to the trail and he thought that ought to be taken into consideration . He stated that he would like to reiterate that he would like to see a referendum , at the very least , and he would like to see it disbanded , the trail itself , just dropped but at the very least , a referendum . Beth Mulholland , 105 Penny Lane stated that she was speaking for Circle Greenway and the the Six Mile Overseer Committee both of wham are charged by the City with maintaining the gorge below and we have had a lot of experience with bikes , hikers , with joggers , with all sorts of things . We have spent 15 years cleaning up Six Mile Gorge to the point now where women feel free to go up the gorge and families enjoy walking in the gorge . So she stated that she knew what some of these people are thinking about . We were utterly opposed to the trail at first because it seemed to put in jeopardy what we were trying to do down below in the gorge and that was a wildflower preserve plus a public passive recreation . Those two uses for the gorge are what our program is about and we thought your elaborate plan would not be good right up there on the rim of the gorge „ However , the plan as it now is , seems much better but we do have certain concerns and this is one of them . If you make this trail it will be for bikes but won ' t the motorized bikes came in and that is our real problem because they will get down into the gorge . That South Hill side of the gorge is particularly beautiful actually , it ' s better than the other side . We don ' t want people to know that because we don ' t have the personnel to care for it . We have a gorge ranger that works on the East Hill side but he or she cannot possibly take on the South Hill side so we are concerned about motorized vehicles getting down into there , into that beautiful area and how are you going to stop it George ( speaking to Assistant Planner George Frantz ) ? We know signs don ' t make any difference so that ' s still our big concern . The noise and the rutting up of the trails particularly . We are also concerned about the hunting because we have had many instances where , she stated that she did not think it was so much hunters as shooters , target shooting , from the trail , came right across the gorge and that ' s quite dangerous and we don ' t even go down during deer season so she thought the prohibition at that time woulq be good , however , some people will be down there . So , because we don ' t have the personnel to take care of the South Hill side we are a little bit leary of what will happen and the gates that you mention , we feel , will be like an attractive nuisance . It would be neat , you know , to find a way around those gates . So , try to figure it out George , but we feel better about it than we did last year . Peter DeGraff , 611 Coddington Road stated that his grandmother had written a little letter here that she would like me to read to you addressing the projected path from Hudson to Burns . Having a natural fairly primitive path in the City is rare , most people think it ' s highly desirable . Making it into a thoroughfare with mar paving and wide clearing is very ordinary and a very uncreative way of serving the public . The path has been walked on for many years , much of it is leased to the adjoining private owner . Changing and taking over private lands should be preceded Town Board Minutes 40 April 9 , 1990 by a real study . He stated that he happened to disagree with that because there have been some real studies done . Studies have already been done by Nature Conservacy and New York forest owners in regard to keeping scene wildflowers , wild life and good trees for all of us . Changing it into a neat , totally safe and ordinary thoroughfare for bikes and horses , etc . , makes it something that sterling people cannot use safely . A place for strollers not snowmobiles and bikes is much harder to find than a piece of ground taken over for urbanization . He went on to say that he grew up basically , using that trail with a childs sense of possession . He stated that it has been kind of hard to share but he felt his wife and he have now agreed that it is a good idea to have a trail but he would seriously hope that the nature , the attractiveness of that trail is kept and that it is overgrown , it is a beautiful place to walk and see some very unusual plants . He stated that they were just walking last Saturday or Sunday with a naturalist and he saw scene fairly rare plants and even some elms that had not been touched yet by the disease . He stated that he hoped this type of construction will address those issues and he felt changing the trail to grass and those type of things is something that has turned out to be a pretty good idea and he hoped that the construction of the trail along those lines continues . Kinga Gergely , 106 Juniper Drive stated that she just wanted to be counted as in favor of the recreation way . It ' s a resource that we use or lose and she hoped that the Town would stay f lexible . We have gone through a long process , we have put a lot of work into it , we feel comfortable with the way it looks now and she would hate to start all over again . Orlando Iacovelli , 270 Pennsylvania Avenue stated that he was personally against the trail but mostly he was for the democratic process and he knew that we have gone to a couple of informational meetings and at one of the informational meetings that he went to there was a large group of neighborhood people there and we were mislead by the representatives that we had elected . And he stated that he found that very , very difficult that we were told specifically at that meeting that it had already been passed and we couldn ' t do anything except to modify it and he thought that prevented a lot of people from voicing some opinions at an open meeting that we really weren ' t aware that the issue was going to be brought up and voted upon . As we can see , in many of the foreign countries now they are given the right to vote and make decisions and he felt this should go back to the people for a decision . He felt everyone here would be happy to live with the decision that the voters put forward . Supervisor Raffensperger stated that she would like to bring the discussion back to the Board who had a resolution before them . Councilman Liguori stated that he felt the people here tonight really articulated some really good points and he stated that he couldn ' t disagree or he couldn ' t really challenge any one of them, on either side of the issue . He stated that he thought the really important thing was that the State legislature , in its wisdom , said that before you undertake a project of this sort you ought to give the people an opportunity for a public referendum . And you did and the petition which is the normal way to decide whether or not it is going to referendum was deficient in time , it was not deficient in terms of numbers . He went on to say that what bothers him was that the Town , at that point , had two alternatives , they could do either one of two things . They could declare the petition invalid or they could say you missed by six days , or whatever it was , lets have a public referendum . The Town Board did not do that , the Town Board IIIE Town Board Minutes 41 April 9 , 1990 said no we are going to go on a technicality , the petition was not right , it did not meet the requirements of the law , therefore , that ' s the end of it . Then the people challenged it with a court action and the judge , he felt , properly ruled . The judge said yes you did give them an opportunity they missed the boat on the technicality . And there is , he thought , reasonable doubt on the part of people who were submitting the petition as to whether or not . . . as to where the 30 days applied . And , regardless of what happens here he stated that he was going to ask the Board , later on , to include in every approval as long as there is a public referendum , a statement as to when that determination date ends so that the public knows in that resolution that they have up until a certain point in time to submit a referendum petition , if they wish . He went on to say that he was not opposed to the trail but he did believe that we owe the people in this Town and he stated that he had not heard anybody mention the people outside of the neighborhood area , he was talking about the people throughout the Town who are going to pay for this and he did not think they would necessarily oppose it and he thought they ought to have that opportunity . Not only the people in the neighborhood but the people in the whole Town . He stated that he would again move that we let the people decide this issue , present them with all of the facts and then let them decide and whichever way it goes he was sure the people would accept it . Supervisor Raffensperger stated that she was going to make a few comments as she had been on this Board for a long time , not in this seat during this process . This is one of these wonderful things that she had gotten . But in reviewing what has happened on the Town Board over the years from 1984 concerning this proposal for this bikeway , she stated that she did remind herself that we are representatives of the people , that this is a representative kind of government , that over all those years and a dozen votes , never once on this Board was there ever a no vote , never a split vote , everyone always voted for this , all along in the process that George has outlined . Not only that , the Town and that means you , have made a big investment in staff , staff time , planning time , legal time , engineering time using your resources ito do that . Not only that , we have asked for your investment in the process too . You have invested your time in civic associations , individuals who came to this Board really to negotiate what kind of surface would there be on the trail , how wide was it going to be , how were we going to protect landowners . This is a trail that is already being used and in many cases inappropriately . There are already , well for those who don ' t like dirt bikes there are already dirt bikes on it and we have pictures of erosion that is being caused and that is damaging the area . People ask about enforcement of it , there are no regulations there now and there is no enforcement of any regulations there now . She stated that she could not guarantee that the Town will do a perfect job of enforcing whatever regulations we have but lets face it it is going to be better than what there is now . She stated that she really believed that as representatives we are responsible to look to the future and she honestly believed that because of today ' s annoyance with the process that perhaps took place in the past , or whatever , that it is possible that this would be turned and that she really believed that the residents of South Hill and the whole Town would regret it . We as a Board have a responsibility to look to the future , that ' s what you have us here for not just to listen today and talk about tomorrow but to look to the future needs of the Town . The area is used now , she would like to see those uses more appropriate and more safer and she would like to be sure that ten years from now that space is still there for us to negotiate perhaps once again how is it to be used , what should the regulations be . She stated that she honestly believed that as representatives we have a responsibility to make responsive decisions for the future and does Town Board Minutes 42 April 9 , 1990 not always include the easy kind of . . . . . oh , lets let them vote . You have an opportunity to vote for us in the future and she stated that she was sure they either would or wouldn ' t . She stated that she felt the Board had the responsibility to look beyond just tomorrow and that is what she intended to do tonight . Councilwoman Valentino stated that she was a firm believer in democracy and that was why she had tried to get elected to this position and that was why she was here putting in the time and the effort but: she also believed that democracy is not always easy . It is not always as simple as walking to a ballot box and pushing down a lever yes or no . Democracy sometimes mean Town meetings where people have an opportunity to speak the issue and not say yes or no but to say ways that things could be improved if they see a plan to say it could be better if we do that . We heard some wonderful suggestions tonight of things that could happen that would make that plan better . If we were in a ballot box pushing down a lever yes or no we wouldn ' t have heard those ideas for those suggestions because democracy is ideas and sharing of ideas and she thought just to say lets vote is simple democracy is not true and is not fair , Councilwoman Leary remarked that she had a legal question . If this were put to a referendum , a couple of people tonight said well the Town should put forth its position , and the history of the trail and all the specs about the trail and do sort of a public information campaign . She stated that she had heard different things about that . She asked if a municipality could do that in a referendum? She stated that she remembered in the City of Ithaca there were some problems with that . Can we do that? Town Attorney Barney replied , it is a fine line , Pat what you can do . There is no question the Town can produce and put out information regarding the particular issue but you can ' t really go to , what we call electioneering on one side or the other of an issue . It would have to be unbiased disclosure of what has occurred about whatever information you want to put out . The problem is that some people would see , no matter what you did , as biased one way or another because it ' s the position they might not take . To answer your question , legally you can inform , practically speaking is sometimes difficult to do it . Councilman Niklas remarked to the Supervisor that before the Board voted he felt it would be a good thing for all of us to explain why we voted one way or another on an issue especially since you contributed so much time and energy on what you had to say . Councilman Niklas went on to say that he was not on the Town Board in December 29th when this resolution was first passed and actually, at the last Town Board meeting when Councilman Frank Liguori suggested that this referendum resolution be proposed , he stated that he voted along with Frank unofficially to reopen the issue because he felt some of these things had to be readdressed . He stated that he was very much taken by what Frank just said though , and he made two comments which he asked Councilman Liguori to correct him if he was wrong but one was that you weren ' t necessarily opposed to the recreational way and the other is that you weren ' t really convinced that the people would vote against it even if it went to referendum . Councilman Liguori replied , he did not know how they would vote . Councilman Niklas continued saying , well he thought the real question here given the attitudes of even the person who suggesting the referendum is , first of all whether or not the hike and bike trail is a good idea , whether or not the referendum is a good idea . He stated that he has heard a lot of discussion about cost , how Town Board Minutes 43 April 9 , 1990 much is it going to cost the taxpayer to acquire this land and to build on it . He stated that he had taken down some numbers and actually did some research before this meeting and said that he did not think the cost of this recreational way is excessive . He went on to say that he also doesn ' t think that we hear as many complaints when the Town or people in the Town cane before us to ask for extensions of sewage and water or new roads . Are we willing to bare those costs and not bare the costs of acquiring green space , of areas that are available to everybody in the Town , not just the people that live next to it? He stated that he was going to vote to pursue the recreational way because he stated he was not convinced , in fact he was convinced that a referendum would give us exactly that mandate and if we were to pursue a referendum it would cost the Town even that much more . Councilman Klein stated that he did believe that Councilman Liguori had presented some compelling arguments for rescinding our prior resolution and going to a referendum . But having been on the Board last year and the process may have been slightly flawed , but he did believe it was thorough and echoing Mr . Lauderdale ' s comments , he thought the Board really went through quite a democratic process of review and compromise and made many improvements in the whole concept and design of the trail and he felt ' they really had something that would be a substantial public benefit . And , that is why he felt the Board should stay on the course we voted . Councilman Whitcomb remarked that he had been on both sides of the table during the debate on the South Hill Trail and he stated that he had participated in the discussion of it . Originally he was opposed to the trail in it ' s form as it was originally presented because he thought a manicured wide trail was inappropriate for the area . As Mr . Lauderdale point out though , during the time of all of these discussions there has been consensus , there has been compromise , there has been a movement of people towards some kind of agreement on the scope and size of the trail . He stated that he believed it was appropriate to preserve that piece of green space in that area . He felt it acts as a delineation between lands above it , between that and Coddington Road where development might be appropriate and he also thought that the lands below it towards the creek are probably for the most part not appropriate for development . This trail which would be public open space would provide a dividing line between that , a natural barrier and so he felt it was time to move on , the Board has debated this for almost two years that he was aware of . It is time to make a decision and move on- and get the thing in place , so he stated that he was going to support the trail and vote against Councilman Liguori ' s resolution . Councilwoman Leary remarked to Assistant Planner George Frantz , before when you gave the estimated increase in the tax rate you said it was like $ . 43 per thousand , right? Assistant Planner Frantz replied , yes . Councilwoman Leary continued , but was for the higher amount including staff time , right , like for the eighty something thousand? Assistant Planner Frantz replied yes , and that ' s actually not so much an increase as , it ' s essentially the cost per thousand , so it ' s a one shot deal . Councilman Whitcomb remarked , for the average taxpayer in Town , that works out to about $ 25 . 00 paid one time . Town Board Minutes 44 April 9 , 1990 Councilwoman Leary replied , but the point that a large part of the eighty something was just staff time which is there anyway . Assistant Planner Frantz replied , about $ 50 , 000 , yes . Councilwoman Leary remarked , you said about $ 40 , 000 would actually be the cash outlay so actually the $ . 43 would be half of that for what would actually be paid out by the Town and that includes contingency , it ' s a one time thing . Assistant Planner Frantz replied , that he thought the nice thing about the project is the fact that a lot of the expense is simply using existing Town staff and equipment that the Town has already invested money in . Councilwoman Leary remarked that the other point that she thought was really persuasive for anybody who is concerned about the private property along the way is just the amount of expenditure , just the portion of this on erecting barriers which aren ' t there now. So in that sense the improvement on the trail will be to insure even more that people don ' t come off onto private property , more than it is now. Now, everything is open . Supervisor Raffensperger remarked that she was now going to ask for a vote on Councilman Liguori ' s resolution . She noted that this is a resolution which would rescind the previous resolution establishing the South Hill Trail and the implication of this is that it would rescind it , there would be a substitute for it and a referendum would be required . A no vote on this means we are taking no action tonight , that the resolutions that we have passed in the past are still in effect . That is the explanation of the yes and no vote . RESOLUTION NO . Motion by Councilman Liguori ; seconded by Supervisor Raffensperger , WHEREAS , the Town Board adopted a resolution on December 29 , 1989 , establishing the South Hill Trail and authorizing certain expenditures in relation to same , and WHEREAS , a petition seeking the submission of such resolution to the voters at a permissive referendum has been received by the Town Clerk , and WHEREAS , an action was brought in Supreme Court , Tompkins County to declare the petition invalid because it was filed too late , and WHEREAS , Supreme Court has found the petition to be invalid because of its tardiness in being filed , and WHEREAS , the proponents of the petition have filed an appeal seeking to reverse the determination of the Supreme Court and the matter is presently pending in the Appellate Division , Third Department , of the Supreme Court , and WHEREAS , the Town Board , upon reconsideration , now believes it to be in the best interests of all parties to hold a referendum on the Trail , and WHEREAS , because the resolution establishing the Trail remains effective until action of this Board , NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED , that pursuant to Town Law Section 93 the Town Board hereby repeals and rescinds the resolution i Town Board Minutes 45 April 9 , 1990 establishing the South Hill Trail adopted by this Board on December 29 , 1989 , and IT IS FURTHER RESOLVED , that the Attorney for the Town is directed to prepare an appropriate resolution establishing such trail and directing that a referendum on such resolution be held , such resolution to be presented to this Board for consideration at its next meeting . Supervisor Raffensperger called for a roll call vote . Supervisor Raffensperger Voting Nay Councilman Whitcomb Voting Nay Councilwoman Valentino Voting Nay Councilman Niklas Voting Nay Councilman Liguori Voting Aye Councilwoman Leary Voting Nay Councilman Klein Voting Nay The resolution was duly defeated . EXECUTIVE SESSION RESOLUTION N0 . 107 Motion by Supervisor Raffensperger , seconded by Councilman Niklas , RESOLVED , that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca hereby moves into Executive Session to discuss the Ramey litigation , the Hull litigation and a personnel matter . ' ( Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori , Valentino and Niklas voting Aye . Nays - none ) . OPEN SESSION RESOLUTION N0 . 108 Motion by Supervisor Raffensperger , seconded by Councilman Niklas , RESOLVED , that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca hereby moves back into Open Session . ( Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori , Valentino and Niklas voting Aye . Nays - none ) . ADJOURNMENT The meeting was duly adjourned . Town Clerk