HomeMy WebLinkAboutTB Minutes 1990-10-01 TOWN OF ITHACA
REGULAR TOWN BOARD MEETING
October 1 , 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 1st day of October , 1990 , there
were :
P ' : Shirley Raffensperger , Supervisor
John Whitcomb , Councilman
Patricia Leary , Councilwoman
David Klein , Councilman
Frank Liguori , Councilman
Karl Niklas , Councilman
ABSENT * Catherine Valentino , Councilwoman
ALSO PRESENT : John Barney , Town Attorney
Scott McConnell , Highway Superintendent
Daniel Walker , Town Engineer
Andrew Frost , Building Inspector/ Zoning
Officer
Susan Beeners , Town Planner
Linda Nobles , Assistant Budget Officer
Ellen Wheeler , 102 Woolf Lane
Bruno Schickel , 210 Schutt Road , Dryden
Dave Auble , 8785 Rt . 89 , Trumansburg
Representatives of the Media :
Lila Eidi , MRO
Greg Williams , WHCU
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
The Supervisor led the assemblage in the Pledge of Allegiance .
REPORT OF TOWN OFFICIALS
Supervisor ' s Report
Supervisor Raffensperger stated that she had received complaints of
large , noisey and roudy get togethers . She stated that she had
talked to the Sheriff ' s Department several times and contacted the
State Police and Ithaca College . The problem seems to be an area
one , a wide one , occurring both in the City and the Town . All of
the agencies and groups involved seem to be cooperating in an
effort to address the problem and it seems to have improved
somewhat in the past week .
The Supervisor went on to say that she had received another
communication from Tcm7pkins County Solid Waste Division . Barbara
Eckstrom informed her that the Town cannot expect Townwide curbside
recyling until March of 1991 . Additionally the City drop off
center will not be available after the first of the year and they
are again looking for a site in the Town . She went on to say that
the Board may remember that they gave the go ahead for the Highway
Barn site earlier this year and then the request was withdrawn .
She stated that with the Board ' s consent we will proceed to look at
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Town Board Minutes 2 October 1 , 1990
a site in the Town after Solid Waste decides where they really want
to put its
Supervisor Raffensperger noted that the Town had received a
petition from the residents on Burleigh Drive for a lighting
district . The Town Engineering Department is looking at the area
and will came up with an estimate of the cost which will then be
discussed with the petitioners for their decision as to whether or
not they wish to proceed with the lighting district .
Supervisor Raffensperger stated that the tentative budget consumed
a great deal of staffs and her time this month . That budget was
made available to the Town Board on Friday and now becomes , as the
Board reviews , the Town Board ' s budget . Changes may be made up
until about October 26 . We will need a seconded Board meeting this
month to award the South Hill Water Tank bids and if there are
extensive requests for revisions to the budget they could be
addressed at that meeting .
Councilman Niklas asked if any tickets of appearance have been
issued on the basis of the Town of Ithaca Noise Ordinance ?
Supervisor Raffensperger replied , not to her knowledge . They towed
cars instead . This has occurred mostly on Pennsylvania Avenue and
this is where she has been getting the complaints from . She noted
that she had received a call quite late on Saturday evening , two
weeks ago and she had called the Sheriff . They sent two cars up ,
they had to wait until they had two cars because there were so many
people there . She thought adequately characterized as between 100
and 150 people , so of course they were unwilling to send one car so
they waited until they could send two cars . Then they tagged and
towed cars from the area . The Supervisor stated that she had
called the Sheriff Department several times to discuss with them
our agreement of this past spring that what we wanted was
appearance tickets issued and they had assured her that if it
seemed necessary they will do that . She stated that she had talked
to Ithaca College and she knew they had sent a letter out to
students soliciting their cooperation and explaining to them the
considerable consequences of this kind of behavior . She felt the
City had really been cracking down also , in the same general area .
Counciluxuon Leary asked , what were the considerable consequences ?
Supervisor Raffensperger replied , that they will at least be given
an appearance ticket and have to go to Town Court . She stated that
she thought the towing was extremely inconvenient , probably more so
than an appearance ticket . That didn ' t seem to have shut it down
for the next weekend but the Sheriff ' s Department has been
patrolling there earlier in the evening just to make their presence
known and she felt this has cut down on the formation of these
parties .
Councilvrinan Leary asked if the Highway Barn was still a possible
site for recycling?
Supervisor Raffensperger replied , it still is . What happened was
that a bunch of us went down there and look around and found a
place to put it , Councilman Whitcomb as Chair of Public Works went
along and we found a site and discussed how we could do it . When
the meeting was all over they said they thought that may be they
might rather have it at Biggs . When they called this time she had
told them that when they decided which place they wanted to have
it , the Town would be delighted to work with them . If the City
site is closed the Town is going to need something in the Town , if
curbside recyling is not to be until spring .
tee,
Town Board Minutes 3 October 1 , 1990
Councilman Whitcomb asked if the City site was not going to be open
or were they just closing for the season ?
Supervisor Raffensperger replied that they were closing after the
first of the year because they need the Pier Road site for other
construction projects .
Town Engineer ' s Report
Town Engineer Dan Walker stated that they were still negotiating
for some easements for the West Hill water and sewer improvements
and the Health Department approvals which are still pending . Also ,
they are :sill negotiating with the City on the design of the water
meter pit . The Troy Road Water Tank went to bid , the bids were
opened Wednesday now we are waiting for the evaluation from Stearns
& Wheler and should be able to award the contract in a couple of
weeks . The bids all came in in a good range and on target for the
budget . He went on to note that the City was putting up a similar
tank on Haller Boulevard and so he had had an opportunity to
observe first hand some of the construction . We are hopefully in
the final_ editing of the drawings for the Inlet Valley water
project . The Engineer noted that he had had a meeting with the
City Engineering Department and discussed the sewage handling
capacity on Floral Avenue . The Town will have to assist the City
in upgrading that system , probably in the next five years . There
is enough capacity for the present but if there is any expanded
uses of the sewers on Floral Avenue then they and the Cherry Street
pump station will need to be upgraded . We are doing this in
conjunction with developing an agreement for the transportation of
our sewage through the City system . He noted that development
review had been pretty quiet . The Cornell Master Plan is
proceeding slowly and they are proceeding to get department heads
going in one direction and he felt that based on that he thought
the Town would see some real direction in development on their
Master Plan , Ithaca College has two projects which will be
presented to the Planning Board on Tuesday for a new science
building and a loop road . They are doing some extensive studies of
the water and sewer system and they would be working with the
College on this . The Engineer noted that there was a sewage
blockage on one of the older sewer mains on Danby Road last week
and it required four people with chain saws and a loader . The City
has been doing the cleaning but they could not find the manholes
because the brush was so thick over the right-of-way so he feels it
is important to start a maintenance program over the right-of-ways ,
both water and sewer . Interviews will be scheduled soon for the
Engineering Technician position .
Highway SIT!erintendent ' s E2 port
Highway Superintendent Scott McConnell noted that besides regular
maintenance on the highway vehicles , they had also made repairs to
the van that the Engineering Department purchased from Bolton
Point . lie went on to note that the backhoe had broken and was now
having major transmission work done on it at Hansen ' s in
Horseheads . He stated that next year they were looking at
replacing the backhoe . The big projects for the last month were
turn arounds for the snow plows on dead end roads . Shoulder and
ditch work was completed in anticipation of winter and two culverts
were replaced because they were deteriorated and causing road
damage . The Highway Superintendent noted that they had brought in
about three hundred tons of icing sand and will be bringing in the
icing salt next month . Superintendent McConnell went on to say
that soniething that has really brought the departments together ,
they have been working with the Parks Department and the
Town Board Minutes 4 October 1 , 1990
Engineering Department , and that the Parks Department had done a
lot of seeding for a water service break and a canplaint on Woolf
Lane which is saving money . Before a contractor would have to have
been hired . It is also saving the Engineering Department a lot of
time running around . Last Friday they worked with the Engineering
Department and are continuing to work with them this week to clear
the right-of-way on Danby Road , as the Town Engineer spoke about .
Mowing has finally slowed down for the Parks Department and they
have been able to do same tree and shrub trimming . The trails have
been cleared on the low end of Eastern Heights Park and really look
nice . The! Parks Department is also doing safety inspections on the
older playstructures that have been in place for several years .
The Highway Superintendent stated that he had received a camplaint
on the chain link fence that is between the Northeast walkway and
BOLES . Scmeone claims it ' s a liability problem and may be a safety
hazard . lie stated that it was his understanding that it was the
Town ' s responsibility and that he was looking into fixing it . He
wondered if it could be removed?
Supervisor Raffensperger replied that she and Rich Schock had
discussed it earlier in the year because it was expensive to
replace it or repair it . She thought that Rich had spoken to BOCES
who were very loathed to having the Town take it down . She stated
that she had suggested that it might be replaced with sane kind of
a more attractive wooden divider but at the time BOLES seemed very
loathed to having this done .
Councilman Niklas asked , what was the purpose of the chain link
fence ?
Supervisor Raffensperger replied , to keep the children who use the
walkway to get the the school , off of the BOLES property .
Councilman Niklas wandered if BOLES was going to specify the kind
of way in. which the Town was going to deal with this , perhaps they
could help defray some of the cost .
Highway Superintendent McConnell noted that on Burns Road , right
below Hilker ' s , they had cut the shoulder back . He noted that they
had received permission fran the Hilker ' s , who own the property ,
and they were also looking at doing the same thing on the other
side as it is a blind curve .
Supervisor Raffensperger asked when the stripping was scheduled to
begin ?
Highway Superintendent McConnell replied that the stripping should
be going on right now . The contractors had talked with him and are
ready to start .
Building Inspector/ Zonin Officer ' s Report
Building Inspector/ zoning Officer Andrew Frost stated that eleven
building permits were issued in August . Sixteen certificates of
occupancy were issued , 18 new camplaints were investigated and 72
field visits were made . Mr . Frost noted that Complaint # 6 was an
occupancy complaint and basically we are at a situation now where
the landlord is claiming that he has non-conforming rights to
maintain his building with occupancy of up to four people . The
canplaintant in this particular case believed there were five
people in there , as best we could , we were able to trace one of the
individuals to having a permanent address downtown . He stated that
what he suspected was that a girl friend was going to Ithaca
College and living with a boyfriend . If they don ' t formally show
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Town Board Minutes 5 October 1 , 1990
their address as there , there really isn ' t anything further we can
do .
Councilman Niklas asked if this was Evan Monkemeyer and the
complaintent was Peter Hillman?
Mr . Frost replied , yes .
Councilman Niklas remarked that this has been a persistent problem
on Stone Quarry Road for a long time .
Mr . Frost replied , the 389 was also before this Board a year ago
last April_ . He went on to note that Complaints 11 - 16 which is
also an occupancy situation where we have leases at the Grandview
Subdivision where we have Covenants and Restrictions which read a
little differently for the single detached units than the
condarn nilLns which are two family houses with the property line
down the middle . In this case we have six properties where we have
complaint. of occupancy . The Covenants and Restrictions specify
that there can be no more than two unrelated people in the house .
In this case he has leases which clearly show two unrelated
individuals by name on the lease . He stated that his suspicion was
that there are probably three unrelated people in the house , in
violation of the law . None of the properties have names on the
mailboxes .
Town Attorney Barney felt that if the Board was interested that it
should be discussed in Executive Session as it boarders on possible
or potential litigation .
Councilman Niklas noted that Mr . Hillman had kept a record of the
license plates of cars parked over night at this place , on a day by
day basis . He asked if this provided any basis of true evidence as
to the violation of the occupancy law? Could that be used as
evidence ?
Town Attorney Barney replied that he would be happy to answer that
in Executive Session .
Mr . Frost went on to say that they have not gotten a lot of
complaints in regard to noise , however , they have received scene .
We have informed them of the actions by the police departments . It
seems to be more prevalent to the City of Ithaca .
Town Planner ' s Report
Town Planner Susan Beeners noted that there have been a total of
ten Planning Board or Committee meetings since the last Town Board
meeting . She noted that Supervisor Raffensperger , Town Engineer
Dan Walker and she had attended a meeting at Cornell University on
September- 26th on the presentation of the State Dormitory Authority
Bond Act: package of at least fifteen projects , including new
projects ,, some utilities relocation and some road relocations . She
went on to note that the census was mailed out , the Town had the
largest actual population growth . There were some undercounts that
were sent back for them to check . The Town Planner went on to say
that Councilman Whitccmb , Dooley Kiefer , Laura Marks and she went
to Cortland on the 25th and met with scae of the DEC Conservation
Advisory Council support . They talked about budgeting and met some
Of the County EMC members there . DEC did confirm that we had been
approved , our budget and work program for CAC for this April until
next March had been approved but she had not received anything in
writing . The reimbursement looks like around 14 % rather than the
20-25 % we were hoping for . Ms . Beeners stated that she had
attended a Route 96B Overlook dedication on the 14th . She stated
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Town Board. Minutes 6 October 1 , 1990
that the Overlook really grew, nobody really had an official word
as to what was happening there . Some of it is on Ithaca College
property , some of it is in the State right-of-way . She stated that
she had volunteered , on a personal basis , to do the landscape for
its
Councilman Niklas remarked that there were two serious problems
that he saw with it , that involves safety . One is that there is
actually no curbing around the parking lot , if it is icy or snowy ,
there is nothing to prevent someone from going over the edge . He
felt there should be a metal curbing or something . The other thing
was that work was being done on the culvert between the overlook
- and the property of Althea Kelly . As a result , they have removed
all the shrubbery and are putting in a metal culvert to replace the
creek which was a natural barrier between the people who come there
and Mrs . :Kelly ' s front window . After the ice and snow comes no one
will be able to tell where the property for the overlook ends and
where it :begins .
Councilman Niklas remarked that he would like to comment on one
other thing and that was parking along Route 96B exactly in front
of the South Hill Fire Station . This past weekend , Ithaca College
had a freshman orientation and they had big signs , two big signs ,
all pointing into I . C . , one of them unfortunately seemed to imply
that people could use the driveway to the South Hill Fire Station
to get to I . C . They didn ' t block the actual entrance or exit but
they parked in the mid-span and then walked up the Fire Station
driveway to get to I . C . There were no tickets on those cars even
though there are signs that say "No Parking Anytime " . He felt this
was a very serious problem being this was an active fire station .
He felt that I . C . should monitor their own activities to the extent
of the effect it has on the highway and a fire station which is
there for their good as well as other residents on South Hill ,
Ms . Beeners went on to say that she and Scott had attended a Finger
Lakes Land Trust meeting on the 18th where she gave a brief report
on Town Conservation Advisory Council work . We discussed , briefly ,
what the land trust priorities might be and how it related to the
Town .
Councilman Klein remarked that he thought he would like the
Planning Staff to look at what the School District has done to
DeWitt and Northeast . He felt some was in response to our no
parking . He assumed the school was exempt from any site plan
review and he felt they had exacerbated the situation . They cut ,
from Winthrop Drive , they have cut like a drop off opposite the
houses where we have no parking . It ' s just sort of gravel , crushed
stone . . . ., . .
Town Engineer Walker remarked , in the right-of-way?
Councilman Klein replied , on the school ground but he assumed they
had to put in two culverts as there is drainage swail on that side .
Then at DeWitt he thought they had done something that seemed very
dangerou;n . On the north entrance they have created a series of
paired roads at their north drive and built a railroad tie island
so that the south entrance of the north drive is buses only and
then the north side of the railroad tie island is a two-way auto
lane . So supposedly the cars go one way and buses go the other
way . He went on to say that the parking situation on Winthrop when
DeWitt and Northeast discharges is still a mess because people are
still standing in their cars . There was the question about whether
"No Parking " signs would work , well they might work for athletic
events but they don ' t work for pickups because everybody is sitting
in their cars and they are lined right around the bend and you
still have the cross walk from Northeast to DeWitt . He felt the
Town Board Minutes 7 October 1 , 1990
School District did not help matters at all and he felt the
Planning staff and the Engineering staff should take a look at
this , particularly at discharge time .
Town Attorney John Barney reported that the South Hill Trail
lawsuit was finally , after a lot of backing and filling perfected
in the Appellate Division , has now been scheduled to be argued in
November . He thought it had been put on an expedited calendar so
the Town :should have a decision in December or perhaps as early as
November . The other lawsuit involving Cayuga Cliffs has been
settled b_y withdrawal of his complaint and the stipulation that he
doesn ' t have to go through the sketch plan process if he doesn ' t
want to .
REPORT OF COMMITTEES
Comprehensive Planning Committee
Councilman Klein stated that there was a meeting of the Committee
last Tuesday . We had , at a prior Committee meeting , talked about
going to a retreat for a day to try to do an intensive session on
establishing some goals . The sense of the Committee was that we
are going to try to put that off and may not need that particular
retreat . The focus of our last Committee meeting was really
getting the survey report from our Survey Subcommittee . Councilman
Niklas and the Planning staff did some extensive work in analysis
and preparation of that report and the final draft is being
prepared by the Town Planning staff . We are tentatively going to
have a news conference on the 9th of October to release the
information to the media and establish the 17th of October as a
public meeting date to let the people know what the results of the
survey was . He thought that Assistant Planner George Frantz was
trying to find a place , the Committee felt the NCR cafeteria was
probably the best choice . He went on to say that the Goal
Subcommittee met last Friday morning and will be meeting again this
Friday . We hope that on the 17th we will have scene of the goal
statements available for continent . The Consultant has given us the
first chapter of the plan for convnent by the Committee members and
he expected extensive revisions . They have also asked the
Consultant to provide us with somewhat of an update in terms of
where we are going . The sense of the Committee is that there is
still a good deal of work to be done and we would like to use the
Consultant as much as possible . We do have the Staff working a
good deal on components of the plan but there seems to be a sense
that we :need more help to get it done . We are anxious to get it
put together so that we can go out for public input . There has
been some discussion of what the content is going to be . We are
not going to be able to produce the perfect plan but we want
something that is going to be good and send it out for public
comment . He went on to say that the Assistant Planner had shared
with him, last Friday , a very interesting comprehensive plan
document from Lancaster County , basically it was printed like a
tabloid , like the Grapevine , and it had nice graphics and photos
and you could open it up and you saw lots of parts of it and it was
readable . Obviously , it is a larger county and it was a county
wide comprehensive plan but in terms of format it was very
interesting and was something for us to look at . More readable
than a hundred pages of Xerox type copy .
Conservation Advisory Council
Councilman Whitcomb stated that Laura Mark ' s Parks , Natural Areas
and Open Space Committee has forward a draft of the Six Mile Creek
Town Board Minutes 8 October 1 , 1990
Protection. package to Ron Brand for his comments . We hope to have
those comments back by our meeting this Thursday night , if so we
will consider adopting that or endorsing that plan and sending it
off to the Planning Board at that time . The Town Planner mentioned
that we had met with some officials from the State in Cortland last
week where they called a group of CAC ' s and FMC ' s together to
discuss nmztual problems and also to talk about the State funding .
As the 'Dawn Planner indicated earlier , it has been up in the
neighborhood of 20 to 25 % in the past , they indicated that it would
drop to 14 or 15 % this year and might drop further in the future .
He went cn to say that it makes one wonder whether it is really
worthwhile to seek the cost sharing from the State if the number
drops below some point . He stated that he was not sure what that
number was but if it takes more staff time and energy to satisfy
the State requirements than we get back , so it will need to be
discussed in-house at some time . CAC is also continuing to work on
the Open Space Plan and Open Space Index , this all takes a great
deal of time but he thought at some point the number of pieces will
fall into place all at once and we will look back with a great
sense of .accomplishment .
Codes and Ordinance Conmittee
Councilman Niklas remarked that the agenda already had three public
hearings relating to COC so he thought he would defer .
INCREASED HOURS OF EMPLOYMENT FOR ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT TO
HIGHWAY SUPERINTENDENT
Supervisor Raffensperger stated that she would like to do this item
first so that it will preceed the presentation of the Tentative
Budget because there is an item in the Tentative Budget which is
involved in this . She noted that the Board had received copies of
a memo from the Highway Superintendent to her asking for the
position of Secretary in the Highway Department be made a full time
position . We discussed this before John Ozolins left and we
deferred the decision until we had a new Highway Superintendent and
he could make the recommendation . In looking at this years Budget
we should be able to cover that for the rest of the year and she
was suggesting that the position be included as full time for the
first three months of 1991 and then reassess if it still remains
necessary . She felt it was necessary now with the new Highway
Superintendent and it will be helpful to him . She stated that this
did not mean the position would not continue , it ' s just that we
will review it at that time .
Councilwoman Leary asked if this person was already receiving the
Health Insurance benefits because they are working 20 hours ?
Assistant Budget Officer Linda Nobles replied that she is not
receiving benefits because she is covered under her spouses plan .
RESOLUTION NO , 242
Motion by Supervisor Raffensperger ; seconded by Councilman Niklas ,
RESOLVED , that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca hereby
authorize the position of Administrative Assistant for the Highway
Department be made a full time position for a period of six months ,
at which time the position will be reassessed .
(Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori and Niklas voting
Aye . Nays - none ) ,
Town Board Minutes 9 October 1 , 1990
PRESENTATION OF 1991 TOWN OF ITHACA TENTATIVE BUDGET
Supervisor Raffensperger presented the following budget message :
The 1991 budget contains many changes occasioned by New York State
Audit and Control ' s audit of the Town ' s 1989 financial report .
Because those changes were so substantial and far-reaching , I asked
John Barney to check A&C ' s comments . He has affirmed the legal
basis of their criticisms .
CHANGES : All mortgage tax revenues must be allocated to the
Townwide Fund . Heretofore , they were split between Townwide and
Parttown . No portion of the sales tax revenues may be used to
"offset " taxes of Town residents who live outside of the Village of
Cayuga Heights , as was done in 1989 . Real property taxes assessed
in the Townwide budget must be assessed equally to all taxpayers in
the Town , in 1989 the "offset " resulted in only Village of Cayuga
Heights residents paying Townwide taxes .
The errors seem to have appeared first in the 1988 Town budget when
the Town began taking sales tax revenues directly from Tompkins
County . Changes made in the 1988 budget have been reversed , as
possible , in the 1991 budget . In order to equalize , again as much
as possible , the substantial tax effects of the rulings on
residents outside of the Village , sales tax revenues have been used
to partially offset fire district costs which are paid by Town
residents living outside the Village of Cayuga Heights .
Other major items in the budget include :
TOWNWIDEa
1 ) Engineering Equipment , primarily a computer . The amount is
more than offset by the Inter-fund transfer from Water and
Sewer Capital Improvement Projects for personal services .
2 ) Newly instituted charges by the County for election expenses -
$ 29 ,. 000 , over 15 % of the total 1991 budget increase for
Parttown and Townwide .
3 ) $ 11 ,. 000 for Town Hall painting and repair is a new item . The
Town Hall is a valuable asset and I do not believe we should
neglect minimal maintenance .
4 ) I am proposing that the 105 % increase the SPCA has requested
be adjusted to no more than a 29 % increase .
5 ) The City of Ithaca Youth Bureau contract number is an
estimate ; we have not received a firm figure .
6 ) Because discussions between NYS and the IRS are still ongoing ,
the present level of payments for retirement contributions has
been left in the 1991 budget .
PARTPOWN
1 ) The South Hill Trail items represent net costs after grant
reimbursements .
2 ) The $ 15 , 000 cost for the Mitchell Street , Ellis Hollow Road
Walkway will be reduced by $ 13 , 500 in contributions and
acamnulated interest .
3 ) CAC figures are net , after estimated DEC reimbursements .
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Town Board Minutes 10 October 1 , 1990
4 ) Planning Study costs total $ 35 , 770 and includes consultant
services , planning aides , part-time secretarial help and
Master Plan printing .
HIGHWAY
1 ) Drainage work for Park Lane Extension and sane repairs of the
Forest Home bridges is included .
2 ) Equipment budgeted for includes a pickup truck and backhoe .
Additional funds budgeted will be rolled over into the
Machinery Reserve Fund at the end of 1991 to be used in 1992
for a. piece of major equipment .
FIRE
The Fire District budget reflects the contractual costs for 1991 .
The tax 1E!vy is reduced by using $ 194 , 002 in sales tax revenues .
SEWER
1 ) I am recommending an increase in the sewer rent rate from $ . 85
to $ , 90 per 100 cubic feet in order to recover the Town ' s
share of the Wastewater Treatment Plant ' s budget increase
( 3 . 296 ) and the increased 1991 levy occasioned by the
shortening by two quarters of the consumption - assessment
lag .
2 ) The Sewer Fund includes two new items : $ 50 , 000 for Northeast
Sewer Rehab and $ 50 , 000 for "City payment , Joint Sewers " .
The second is included as an early warning of what is to cane
and is most probably a considerable underestimate .
The Town ,, almost 3 years ago , was to have negotiated a contract
providing for the payment of a " fair share " of the operations and
maintenance costs of City sewers used to transmit Town sewage to
the Wastewater Treatment plant . In August , 1990 , the Town Board
authorized consultant services to analyze the system and , in 1991 ,
we can expect at least a tentative system for payment to be
established . At present , there is sufficient fund balance to meet
the Town ' s responsibility .
I believe there may be close-out costs for the local share of the
Wastewater Treatment plant grant , although I can find no record of
the projected amount or time table for payment .
WATER
The Water Fund , which has run a deficit for two years , is
recovering and by December 31 , 1990 should have a modest fund
balance . There are many deferred water maintenance and repair
projects to be accanplished in the next several years .
The Water budget for 1991 includes funds for tank security
improvements , tank and pump station improvements and system
telenetery improvements .
I have not recamnended the use of any fund balances in the Townwide
or Parttown budgets for 1991 . The staff estimates that 1990
revenues in the two funds were overestimated by over $ 280 , 000 ,
primarily in sales tax revenues . Only by all departments '
Town Board Minutes 11 October 1 , 1990
cooperation has the expense side been reduced . This means ,
however , that necessary expenditures have been deferred to 1991 .
Approximately $ 232 , 600 will remain in both funds at the end of
1990 . Any further reduction in fund balances would add to our
cash-flow problems .
It has been my goal to more conservatively estimate revenues , more
realistically estimate expenses in the 1991 Tentative Budget .
The Tentative Budgets for Townwide and Parttown and Highway show an
increase of about $ 200 , 000 over 1990 , or 8 % . The increases in
these budgets in the past three years have ranged from 7 . 53 % to
27 . 29 % , averaging 15 . 79 % .
For residents in the Village of Cayuga Heights , taxes will increase
by 12 $ , as compared to 14 . 2 % in 1990 . For a house valued at
$ 60 , 000 in 1989 (average reassessment increase to $ 144 , 000 ) , the
increase will be about $ 13 . 50 .
The Parttown tax rate remains at 0 . Town residents outside the
Village of Cayuga Heights must , according to Audit and Control , pay
Townwide taxes . For a house assessed at $ 144 , 000 in 1991 , the
Townwide -tax will be approximately $ 135 . , an amount offset in part
by the application of sales tax revenues to reduce the fire
district charges by approximately $58 .
Councilman Whitcomb remarked , the last thing that you mentioned
where the Townwide taxes would be approximately $ 135 on a typical
house and would be off set by $ 58 , so the $ 135 does include the
fire tax .
Supervisor Raffensperger replied , no it does not . The fire tax for
$ 144 , 000 house , and this is difficult because the assessment
increases have been uneven in the fire district and in Townwide , so
it ' s not completely comparable . The fire tax will increase by
about 12 % which is the increase in the contractual amount and so
will amount to somewhat over $ 400 , which is what it was ,
approximately , last year plus 12 % . But , $58 of that will be offset
by sales tax revenues .
Supervisor Raffensperger asked if there were any questions on page
1 . She went on to say that these were estimated revenues and the
Board would note that the primary source are real property taxes
which will be assessed across the Town and you will note the
mortgage tax revenues are all in this particular part of the
budget . There is an inter-fund transfer of $ 49 , 910 from the Water
and Sewer Capital Projects which is reflective of the personnel
costs which are being allocated from Engineering to the Capital
Projects and there is an inter- fund transfer for that item . She
remarked that there would be lots of opportunities for the Board to
review the budget , however , she did try to make it available as
soon as possible . She went on to say that there has been a modest
increase in Town Board and Justice and Supervisor ' s salary which is
a separate item on the agenda because that has to be advertised
later .
Councilman Niklas remarked that in view of going through the budget
Page by page he wondered if the Board could just sit on it until
they had had a chance to digest it further ?
Supervisor Raffensperger asked if the Board would like to have
another meeting or what ?
Councilman Niklas replied that actually this was his first time
with a budget like this and he did not know what protocol was but
Town Board Minutes 12 October 1 , 1990
he thought. that if the Board had specific cants they could just
give them to the Supervisor in writing .
Supervisor Raffensperger replied that that would be just fine but
she felt that the Board should go through it and review it in a
minimal sort of way tonight in case questions do come up . She
continued , noting that on page 3 the Board would find the
Engineering equipment item which she had referenced in the budget
message , that ' s primarily for a computer . The amount is more than
offset by the interfund transfer from Water and Sewer Capital
Projects for personnel services . The newly instituted charges by
the County for election expenses which is under Election Expenses
is a new :item . $ 29 , 000 which is over 15 % of our total 1991 budget
increase for Parttown and Townwide and was imposed on us by
Tompkins County . On the next page , the item that is new and
different is an $ 11 , 000 item for Town Hall repainting and repair
and as she noted she did think the building is a valuable asset to
the Town and some minimal maintenance should be budgeted for each
year . Unfortunately we have a lot of pealing paint this year . The
Supervisor went on to mention that Shared Services and Unallocated
Insurance have been moved from the Parttown budget to the Townwide
budget anal this is the reverse of the transfer that was made in
1988 . It. was necessary to do this in order to equalize the tax
burden to residences of the Town both outside the Village and in
the Village . She stated that she had actually taken Audit &
Control ' s comments and did a solid state budget using the same
figures for the 1990 budget and allocating the funds as they said
we would have to do it and it resulted in extremely uneven , unequal
tax burdens to various Town residents . That led to the research to
go back and find out how did all this take place in the first place
and it was in 1988 when we first took the sales tax revenues .
These changes are really the reverse of what happened in 1988 and
does equalize the tax burden as much as we could possibly could do .
Councilman Niklas questioned , in shared services under equipment ,
equipment. payments computer , $ 18 , 000 ?
Supervisor Raffensperger replied , those are lease payments .
Councilman Niklas remarked , we are buying a computer for $ 18 , 100 .
Town Engineer Walker replied , that ' s not just a computer . That
includes a number of other items such as radios and other equipment
we are using . A large chunk of that is for an Engineering
computer ,, the leased computer doesn ' t address all the engineering
specialized programs that we are using . It ' s primarily for mapping
and planning purposes .
Supervisor Raffensperger remarked , it ' s kind of an interesting
balance because really we cannot justify the transfer for the
personal services from capital projects unless they have the
equipment to do it so it is kind of a wash , in a sense .
Supervisor Raffensperger went on to note a contingent account on
page 4 or the budget for $5 , 000 which is about what we average each
year . Cn page 5 , she noted that she had sent to the Board a
proposal for a sum to be included in the Tentative Budget for the
SPCA contract . She stated that she would like to have some sense
as to whether or not the Board feels this is reasonable , she stated
that she had not called the SPCA but she understood that all of the
Towns in Tompkins County are negotiating those sums . She thought
there was not a single Town that intended to pay the full amount
that was proposed because most of the increases were over 100 % . It
is very difficult for a municipality to make that kind of change in
one year . She stated that she had talked to several of the Town
Supervisors and she felt there was no doubt that they all would
_v
Town Board. Minutes 13 October 1 , 1990
prefer to negotiate that because it ' s a tremendous increase in one
year and difficult to justify because none of us have been able to
determine , from the material presented , why the portion of the SPCA
budget supported by municipal services has increased by 90 % in one
year . She stated that she would call them and discuss the sense of
the Board and if it is the sense of the Board that she should
negotiate around this figure then she would do that .
The Supervisor went on to note Personal Services under the
Superintendent of Highways includes the three months which the
Board just approved for the secretary for the Highway Department .
The Hospital Bus item was decreased , for many years we have been
budgeting $ 2 , 500 and have spent well below $ 1 , 500 . On page 6 , the
City of Ithaca Youth Bureau number is an estimate as she has not
been able to get any kind of firm figures from the Youth Bureau ,
they usually provide the Town with a list of services which we
received in the proceeding year , the percentage that can be
allocated to Town residents and the percentage of the budget for
the various activities and they don ' t seem to have completed that
yet . So , that is an estimate . Supervisor Raffensperger went on to
note that on the same page , the Employee Benefits , the State
Retirement has been left at the amount for last year because we
still don ' t know what is going to happen with the New York State
budget and the State Retirement items . The IRS and New York State
seem to be in the middle of a dispute about what the propriety of
the system that the Legislature came up with , so she felt it was
safer to leave the figure in the budget and if some miracle occurs
and they don ' t make us pay , fine . The next section is the Parttown
Revenues and you will see there are no mortgage taxes in that and
there is sales tax in this portion of the budget . The sales tax
number because of the difficulty we have had so far this year has
been left: at just about the same amount as was projected for this
years budget . Last year there was an anticipation that sales tax
revenues would increase by 8 $ , this would mean that there would be
a 4 % per year over two years . There is no doubt , it is always a
guess .
PERSONS TO BE HEARD
Ellen Wheeler , 102 Woolf Lane stated that she was representing her
husband Mark and herself concerning the placement of the sewer main
through their backyard . We were contacted by the Town about the
placement: of the sewer line in August by Mr . Whitney . Soon after
that her husband contacted Mr . Whitney to let him know that yes ,
they did agree to the placement at that point in their yard and
they would like him to make an offer for compensation for the
property ., We heard nothing back from Mr . Whitney at all and last
week they heard from Mr . Barney . He contacted them and told them
he felt they were unreasonable in assuming that compensation would
be made . She went on to say that she did not know if the Board was
familiar with their property but the main that was laid in 1988 ,
she believed , came down along one side of their property line .
That fall they had their hookup done from their house to that main .
We had no indication that there was going to be another main coming
through the back part of their yard . We , unlike the other people
on this main , are not going to be getting any use out of it . The
other people , the other four or five houses , will be connected to
this main which will flow through our yard and connect with the
main on Woolf Lane . We assumed , according to the statue , that we
would be made an offer for our property , the acquisition of our
property , and because we haven ' t been made an offer , Mr . Barney
suggested that she come to the Board meeting and present their
case . Wa. feel that it is going to be an inconvenience , that is the
Part of our yard where our children play . We have a three year old
and a five year old , we don ' t allow them to play on the East side
Town Board: Minutes 14 October 1 , 1990
of the yard which abuts Route 96 . It ' s the flattest part of our
yard , the dog plays there . We know from experience from having our
hookup to the main on Woolf Lane that it is going to take a good
two growing seasons for it to get back to normal . We do see that
there is potential in the future for disruption of that area again
if there are problems at that connection . We know that there are
going to be many more than five houses connected to that main ,
there will be more flow coning down than those five so there is
more potential for possible problems . And also , the point that it
will , to some extent , limit the use of that property . We simply
feel that in fairness to us that we would like the Town to make
whatever they feel would be a fair offer . We feel confident that
the Town staff is able to know what the property values are there
and what the formulas are for compensation . We certainly don ' t
feel that an assessor would have to be hired , we would feel
comfortable with the amount that the Town would decide on . Also ,
we feel that it was unfortunate that we did not have the
opportunity to connect to this main also . It is our understanding
that sane! of the other people who will connect to this are being
given a free hookup which she felt they could have probably taken
advantage of also . She noted that they had paid $ 1 , 250 for their
hookup which they would not have done had they been aware that this
other main would have been caning through their property . She went
on to say that she was just here to say that they would just like
to request a fair offer , whatever the Town feels is fair .
Supervisor Raffensperger remarked that she did not know if the
Board wished to comment now .
Town Attorney Barney stated that he had just one question for Mrs .
Wheeler . He then went on to ask if the Wheeler ' s were on a septic
system before they hooked to the sewer main in 1988 and where was
their septic system located ?
Mrs . Wheeler pointed out the location on a map which was about
northeast. of the house .
Councilman Liguori asked what was the free hookup?
Town Attorney Barney replied , it is not quite free . When the Town
installs a sewer line and that sewer line disrupts an existing
septic field the people have to hook onto it because they are left
with no disposal system . So , on that basis on occasion , in three
or four particular cases involved with this particular line , the
Town has agreed to provide the line from the main to the house , the
actual hookup is a cost to the homeowner but the underground line
will be installed at the Town ' s expense and that is because we have
basically blown their leach field and they have no place to put
their sewage .
Town Engineer Walker noted that in this area there are several
ponds and some large trees and sane wet areas and that is the
reason for the jog . As we came to the end of the Wheeler property
there is a large wet area and a row of trees and we are trying to
avoid as many trees as possible . The houses that are getting the
" free " connections , we are basically almost running through their
septic tanks . Their systems are being totally disrupted . We are
only providing connection to two out of the five or six houses .
The average length of connection is 50 to 75 feet and the cost to
the Town will be relatively low because the contractor will be
doing that as they are building the sewer , the equipment will be
there .
Councilman Whitcomb asked what was the difference between permanent
easement and temporary easement ?
Town Board! Minutes 15 October 1 , 1990
Town Attorney Barney replied , the temporary easement is a
construction easement because when you go in there you need a place
to store roil and that sort of thing .
Supervisor Raffensperger remarked that she would explain the
Engineering Department ' s statement in this regard as to whether the
Town typically pays for easements and the answer is no . She noted
that in all the years she had been on the Town Board she recalled
the Town paying for one and perhaps tom . Most generally people
feel that if it is not to their direct advantage at least it is a
health and safety improvement . She stated that she knew the septic
field next to the Wheeler ' s was in soave difficulty and so she could
understand why the Engineering Department might have represented to
the Wheelers that typically the Town is not asked to pay for
easements which is basically a public service and she was sure that
was the reason the statement was made .
Mrs . Wheeler replied that in their regard , their understanding was
that we :shouldn ' t have to ask or be put in a position to ask but
that in the statute the Town is required to make an offer , whatever
that offer might be .
Town Attorney Barney replied no , only if we start condemnation
Proceedings . The request is generally given with an easement being
presented, and saying would you mind giving us this easement and in
95 % of the cases people say sure , sign the easement and give them
to the Town . There are offers made when the work disrupts the
septic systems as we just explained and that is not a form of
compensation .
Councilman Niklas asked Mrs . Wheeler if she was principally concern
about the disturbance of the soil and plants ? Is that your
principal. concern?
Mrs . Wheeler replied no , our concern is the inconvenience in terms
of play space for our children and on a permanent easement we won ' t
be allom.Nd to have any kind of a permanent structure . So it ' s the
limited use and the inconvenience of it .
Councilman Niklas asked , isn ' t that easement within the side yard
of the lot ? Would a permanent structure be permitted without a
variance ?
Supervisor Raffensperger replied , it ' s along the back lot .
Town Engineer Walker remarked , it ' s a corner lot so it ' s hard to
tell , is it a back lot . . . . it ' s a side lot actually .
Councilman Niklas replied that the argument was that it decreases
the value of the property but if in fact you can ' t build there
anyway or because the conditions of the lot . . . . . . .
Town Engineer Walker added , generally when we design a sewer and do
an alignment we try to put the sewer either on the property line or
along the property line for that reason because it ' s an area that
is not normally able to be used for any building construction .
Then we take fiscal features into account , there are a couple of
Ponds there and try to avoid that and we try to minimize damage to
large trees and things like that .
Councilman Niklas asked Mrs . Wheeler if she understood why he was
asking his question ?
Mrs . Wheeler replied yes , she understood . Again , that is why she
felt confident that the Town would be able to decide what their
Town Board Minutes 16 October 1 , 1990
price wou:Ld be based on those kinds of issues that the Town might
have more information on that she would personally .
LOCAL LAW AMENDING TITS ZONING ORDINANCE RELATING TO THE EXTRACTION
OR DEPOSI ..0 OF FILL AND RELATED PRODUCTS
Proof of posting and publication of a notice of public hearing to
consider a local law amending the Zoning Ordinance relating to the
extraction or deposit of fill and related products having been
presented by the Town Clerk , the Supervisor opened the public
hearing .
Bruno Schickel stated that this was the first time he had seen the
proposal even though he knew it was coming . In the beginning you
are talking about no more than 50 cubic yards of fill , how does
that relate to the building of a house ? If you are constructing a
house and are excavating for a basement obviously there is going to
be more than 50 cubic yards of dirt removed .
Town Attorney Barney replied , there is an exception on the second
page if you are operating in conjunction with a normal building
permit then the 50 cubic yards turns into 700 cubic yards .
Mr . Schickel asked what was the Town trying to achieve by doing
this ?
Councilman Niklas replied that he thought the Town felt it was to
its advantage to be aware of the removal or deposition of materials
as mentioned in the first sentence of the draft law . All we are
really trying to do is have the Town Engineer and Planning staff
have the opportunity to look at the activities that are going to be
planned Tor a site and with an eye towards whether or not those
activities would create excessive erosion , for example , or present
a problem in the judgement of the professional staff .
Mr . Schickel replied that the reason he was a little startled by 50
cubic yards , that ' s not very much dirt at all . It ' s actually five
truck loads or less , it ' s a small amount , and he ' s just a little
concerned about the impact on somebody who wants to sort of put in
a driveway , add another parking spot on some site . They are going
to have to get a variance , it sounds like , to do that .
Town Attorney Barney replied , it ' s not a variance it ' s a permit .
Mr . Schickel replied , the Board of Appeals ?
Town Attorney Barney replied , yes but it ' s basically a permit
mechanism where they corn in with a plan . All the Town is
concerned about is if you exceed a certain limit and 50 cubic yards
is felt to be an appropriate limit , that it requires at that
juncture review by the Town before it ' s carried out .
Mr . Schickel replied that he would prefer to see the Town write
some sort of a performance code where the Town Engineer or the
Building Inspector can simply say you have met the criteria , here
is your permit . Now, your bringing in sort of a subjective opinion
about it and he was concerned about , quite honestly , the
possibility of abusing the ordinance or putting interpretations on
things . What is protecting against run off and stuff mean ? It
just seems like it would be better if you could quantify it or
something .
Supervisor Raffensperger replied , the Town Engineer is the one who
will be making these determinations and it will be a technical
evaluation of the plan as proposed to the Town . The Town Engineer
Town Board Minutes 17 October 1 , 1990
will make the evaluation of what kind of effects that proposal will
have and to have a performance standard she felt would be most
difficult because of the different nature of the different kinds of
sites in the Town of Ithaca . She felt it very difficult to have a
check list. and say if you did all of these things . . . . fine .
Mr . Schickel replied that he was not so sure it necessarily would
have , if you are taking in the question of visual impact and things
like this ,, yes he would say it was difficult but he guessed that
was his concern , it gets into an area of sort of subjective
opinion . It opens up sort of a pandorah ' s box . He went on to
question , if somebody is putting in a subdivision these things
don ' t hold true or they have already been covered in the site plan
process , is that what you are saying ?
Town Attorney Barney replied , it is anticipated that they will be
covered in the site plan process , yes .
Mr . Schickel remarked that his example of somebody wanting to put
in a driveway , you said that isn ' t true , you wouldn ' t need this ?
Town Attorney Barney replied , if you exceed 50 cubic yards you will
probably need to go through the review process unless you are doing
it in conjunction with the construction of the home .
Mr . Schickel replied that he was talking about a modification of
that . He stated that he was just afraid that what you are going to
have is a little bit like irregular lots , that you are going to
have an awful lot of these coming forward . If you increased that
limit he felt it might save everybody a lot of aggravation .
Councilman Niklas replied that he thought that it was not likely
that many circumstances will come before the ZBA that are not
associated with a building permit or one of these exceptions . In
other words , most of the major constructions and things of that
sort are essentially exempted from this . He did not think there
would be that many opportunities but the one or two that do come
across the agenda for the ZBA will be important for the Town to
know about . He felt anyone who was putting in a driveway or
parking that involves this volume of material , it was important for
the Town -to know about it .
Mr . Schickel replied that 50 cubic yards was not a large volume of
material .
Councilman Niklas remarked that it was to a lot of people who might
have neighboring properties . No one is saying that because you are
going to move 50 cubic yards that you are not going to get the
permit . This is not making the statement that there is anything in
this law that would go against you , it is simply to let the
Engineer see what your plans are to deal with that .
Mr . Schickel remarked that he had spoken to Harrison Rue about
it . . .
Councilman Niklas remarked , he ' s on our Committee . In fact the
volumes of materials that are in here essentially received his
approval .
Mr . Schickel replied that he understood that . What he was saying
was that basically it ' s an okay thing , he did not have any strong
objections to it , but he did think that the 50 cubic yard limit is
just not very much dirt .
Town Attorney Barney remarked , it can cause drainage problems , it
can cause! silting problems , and create a hole with a pond in it .
Town Board. Minutes 18 October 1 , 1990
50 cubic yards in that sense can be enough to drown a youngster if
you have a wet spot .
Mr . Schickel remarked that there could be a different group of
people here looking at it from a different viewpoint later on and
that was a little bit of his concern .
Town Attorney Barney replied that that was what the courts were
for , if scmebody makes an arbitrary decision .
Town Building Inspector/ Zoning Officer Andrew Frost remarked that
it was clear that for a typical builder or developer he doesn ' t
even have a permit process to deal with and some of Mr . Schickel
fears and concerns would be circumstances which he felt would not
happen on a very frequent basis .
Mr . Schickel replied that the only comment he really had was that
the limits are a little low .
Councilman Niklas remarked , as a matter of curiosity what would you
like to see the limit and on what basis ?
Mr . Schickel replied that he would double it or triple it , he
really would . He felt the Board was getting into a situation where
the limit would be hit very quickly if somebody wanted to put in a
driveway . Somebody wanting to rearrange their site slightly to put
in a driveway .
Town Attorney Barney asked Mr . Schickel if he would want five truck
lots of mud dumped on the lot next door to him without any
consideration being given to what ' s going to happen , where it ' s
going to go , where the run off is going to go , what the impact
would be ?
Mr . Schickel replied that most likely the neighborhoods having it
dumped on there have similar concerns .
Councilman Niklas remarked that he was not following Mr . Schickel ' s
response .
Mr . Schickel then replied that what the Town Attorney was saying
was , would he (Mr . Schickel ) like fill dumped on neighbors lawns
and what he was saying was that most people who are going to be
effected by this and are undertaking this sort of stuff , they are
undertaking it to achieve sort of an end .
Town Attorney Barney remarked , that is what brought this about .
There have been a couple of areas in the Town where fill has been
dumped repeatedly without any plan and it ' s just setting there .
Mr . Schickel replied that he understood that . Harrison Rue had
pointed out the one down on Route 13 but you are talking about
incredible amounts of , yards of , fill down there . He went on to
say that what he was saying was that you are hitting the limit very
quickly and that was his point .
Town Planner Beeners remarked that in regard to Mr . Schickel ' s
comments it should be noted that this , as far as the activities
which are accepted or exempted from this , while it would exempt
things done in accordance with the approved site plan , it would not
exempt subdivisions . Until there was a change made to the Planning
Board policy regarding conventional subdivisions , there are a
number of ways we could handle this during the SEQR process . Or if
we really wanted to make sure there was a site plan we might be
able to have the Planning Board require a cluster subdivision .
Town Board Minutes 19 October 1 , 1990
Councilmen Niklas remarked that the intention of Codes and
Ordinance was not to limit , unintentionally , this activity but
merely to have the Town made aware of it . And , we anticipate with
proper erosion control that the Town Engineer ' s concerns would be
allayed and that a positive recndation would be made to the
Boards in most cases .
Mr . Schickel asked for clarification of what the Town Planner had
said . HE! asked , are you saying that subdivisions are exempt from
this or they are not ?
Town Attorney Barney replied , they are not .
Mr . Schickel remarked , if somebody is putting in a subdivision and
is going to move dirt around to put in a road or this sort of stuff
they have this , they fall under this rule . He felt this was going
to be a concern because obviously you are going to . . . . the first
time you put the shovel in the ground you are going to hit the
fifty cubic foot limit and it seems like a redundancy in . . . .
Councilman Niklas replied , that right now the situation is that you
can own a tract of land and you can decide to move large volumes of
soil around without essentially giving the Town or your neighbors
any opportunity to evaluate how safe it is from their point of view
to move that soil around and we would like to know about it .
Mr . Schickel remarked , wouldn ' t you know about it . . . . .
Councilman Niklas replied , only after a situation has arisen . . . .
Mr . Schickel , in the measure of a subdivision ?
Councilman Niklas replied no , not necessarily .
Supervisor Raffensperger remarked that she thought this was
probably not too new a standard for a subdivision . She stated that
it was her impression that the Planning Board already considers
much of this in a subdivision approval process . Really what
brought this about is that if there is no permit asked from the
Town , somebody can do anything they want to , they can move as much
dirt as they like , they can move as much in or as much out without
any kind of controls at all .
Mr . Schickel remarked that DEC has certain regulations in regards
to how much they can move .
Supervisor Raffensperger replied that that limit was so high that
we were getting some very substantial problems being created .
Certainly one that brought it to the Town ' s attention used so much
fill that she understood they were having great difficulty in
getting a foundation in and she assumed it was very poorly done .
We felt it was something that we needed to attend to , that when
there was not a building permit or an application for subdivision
or site plan that we had absolutely no control .
As no one else present wished to speak the Supervisor closed the
public hearing .
Councilman Liguori remarked that he thought Mr . Schickel had a
point in regard to the performance code type of approach . This is
pretty much a performance code except where you get to the point
where you talk about the Town staff must take into account the
distance to a neighbor , he asked what that means ? He asked if the
neighbor sees it then it is a problem? Or a significance nuisance ,
how does imybody evaluate a significance nuisance ? If a truck is
filling a neighboring lot , there will be people who will say that
Town Board Minutes 20 October 1 , 1990
is a significance nuisance and do not want to see the trucks coming
in there . That is the problem he sees with it . It ' s essentially a
performance code because it says what you have to do in regard to
drainage and in regard to erosion and matters of that sort but then
adds these very subjective things that nobody can really deal with
because they have no meaning . He stated that if he were a
contractor this would be the kind of thing that he would be fearful
of rather than the quantity so much , he would be fearful that he
would never really know how the Town was going to react to a
proposal based upon the neighboring objections to it .
Councilman Whitcomb asked what was the anticipated time limit on
this , over what period of time , for ever , one year ?
Councilman Niklas replied , one year . It says , actually , one year
in the beginning of Section 70 . We felt it was appropriate to put
a time interval as to how much you could move .
Councilwoman Leary remarked that the subjective judgement would be
where the ZBA comes in , that ' s the reason you bring it before a
Board and not just to the Engineer .
Councilman Klein stated that he agreed with Councilman Liguori in
terms of the first part , it is really an objective analysis and he
thought the second part was too subjective . In the exemption of
the subdivision this troubles him . He would rather see this
amended to cover the subdivisions before the Board approved it and
then have to change it again . He went on to say that as he
understood it , if the Planning Board were to approve a subdivision
then that approved subdivision winds up having to go to the Board
of Zoning Appeals , if it moves a lot of dirt , to comply with this
ordinance so we are making it even more complicated .
Town Attorney Barney replied that it depends upon . . . . it ' s a little
bit of a question . . . . . that was why he thought it was worth
considering the issue generally at some level whether it ' s the Town
Board level or the Codes and Ordinance Committee or the Planning
Board . But sometimes the Planning Board gets into road cuts
particularly where there are slopes , etc . , with a fair degree of
detail , there are other subdivisions where that ' s not a
particularly significant issue and nobody is really thinking in
terms of large scale movement of dirt one way or another , this
would require obviously a focus when you are talking or making a
road that you are going to move more than 50 cubic yards , that
somebody is going to have to focus on it . Whether there should be
a blanket exemption for subdivisions , he stated that quite frankly
he had not thought it through enough to comfortably make a
recommendation . There are a number of circumstances , at the
Planning Board level , where they don ' t get into it with enough
detail . There could be some concerns .
Councilman Niklas remarked that he appreciated the concerns but he
thought that the subdivision situation may be so complex in itself
that it may actually require another law to treat it specifically .
Councilman Klein remarked , but it would require another Board .
Councilman Niklas replied , it might .
Councilman Whitcomb remarked , at a previous meeting we discussed
the wisdom of transferring special approvals from the ZBA to the
Planning Board . It seemed to him that this would be a case where
it would be appropriate , let the Planning Board review rather than
the ZBA review to avoid having to go from one Board to another with
plans .
Town Board Minutes 21 October 1 , 1990
Town Attorney Barney remarked that he thought this was drafted
before that determination was made and he thought to that extent
that Codes and Ordinance is now dealing with that issue and he
thought they were going to look at all the areas where there are
special approvals and try to make an appropriate allocation as to
which ones are Planning Board or ZBA .
Supervisor Raffensperger remarked that we all have had concerns
about the fact that we have had absolutely no control whatsoever
absent a permit or an application on the extraction or deposit of
fill , etc . We could proceed to enact this local law but also to
ask Codes and Ordinances to examine further the question of
subdivision approval and what would be the most appropriate way to
deal with that .
Building Inspector/ Zoning Officer Andrew Frost asked if number
three on page two , doesn ' t that cover the concern ? It says the
removal or deposit of fill in connection with construction in
accordance with the site plan approved by the appropriate Town
authority , Town Board , Zoning Board , Planning Board , provided that
such construction occurs within three years ?
Councilman Klein remarked , but they are saying the site plan is not
a subdivision .
Mr . Frost replied , but that ' s part of it .
Town Attorney Barney replied that it would not be encompassed in
terms of site plan .
Town Supervisor Raffensperger stated that she thought it was a
complicated question as to whether or not subdivisions should or
should not. be excluded from the process and one that probably was
not in Codes and Ordinances , nor did we ask anybody to , up to this
point , examine it very closely . Now that we have , perhaps Codes
and Ordinances could come back to us with a recommendation .
Councilman Niklas remarked that he had a compromise actually , for
Councilman Liguori and Councilman Klein ' s comments , and that he
could see one word that could be struck from this and that is , if
you read the sentence beginning " completed" about a third of the
way up from the bottom , " completed adverse drainage , erosion " he
suggested striking "visual " . Only because that might be too
subjective .
Town Attorney Barney remarked that that was not in originally and
he was instructed to put it in at Codes and Ordinances direction
and if you do take it out you are now making an alteration that
require it be republished .
Councilman Niklas wished to withdraw his suggestion .
Town Attorney Barney asked Councilman Liguori what subjectively was
the difference between significant adverse consequences and
significance nuisance ?
Councilman Liguori replied that a nuisance is something that
somebody feels is perpetrated against them .
Town Attorney Barney replied , but an adverse consequence isn ' t
perpetrated against them?
Councilman Liguori replied no , a consequence is somebody making a
judgement presumably the Engineer . . . .
Town Board Minutes 22 October 1 , 1990
Councilman Niklas replied , but this reads that the Engineer is
going to be making this recommendation .
Town Attorney Barney went on , and you don ' t see a difference if
somebody is stockpiling dirt right on the boundary line as opposed
to stockpiling dirt three hundred feet away or in the middle of a
50 acre farm .
Councilman Liguori replied , if it doesn ' t interfere with the
boundary .Line he did not see a real problem .
Town Attorney Barney replied , like a run off?
Councilman Liguori replied , run off is covered .
Councilman Klein remarked , adverse drainage .
Town Attorney Barney remarked but it is also a nuisance .
Councilman Liguori replied , as long as your dirt doesn ' t go on the
neighboring property . . . .
Town Attorney Barney replied , how about the effort of moving the
dirt there , with the trucks ?
Councilman Liguori remarked that he was not sure he understood .
Town Attorney Barney replied , smoke , odor , noise .
Councilman Liguori remarked , okay , now you are getting to the
points he was trying to make . There will be people who say they do
not like -the smell of diesel vehicles or bulldozers , they don ' t
like the noise of a bulldozer .
Councilman Niklas replied that he did not think the Town Engineer
or ZBA will make its principal determination based on a comment
like that . He thought that in the past they had always made an
evaluation of projects or permits on a basis of really very
objective criteria and he felt the Board was just providing them
with the equivalent criteria that they have used in other
circumstances .
SEQR
Town Planner Beeners stated that she felt this would be worthwhile
to approve as even an interm means to monitor fill and with the
plan to look at special approvals and where there actually might be
a permit process which she felt was actually more what Councilman
Liguori and Mr . Schickel were talking about . She went on to say
that perhaps it might be appropriate to have levels where the Town
Engineer and the Town Planning staff approve a mini site plan and
other levels of magnitude at which time the Planning Board may be
involved and then another level where perhaps the Zoning Board and
the Planning Board would get involved as well . Some of the actions
that would require applying for special approval will be subject to
SEQR review and also to a County General Municipal Law review and a
couple of other things which will slow down the construction
process by a month or so . She felt there would be some who would
not meet the Type II SEQR lists and will have to go into the
unlisted category and require the short form , at least .
RESOLUTION N0 . 243
Motion by Councilman Niklas , seconded by Councilman Liguori ,
Town Board Minutes 23 October 1 , 1990
RESOLVED , that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca hereby approve
a negative determination of environmental significance .
( Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori and Niklas voting
Aye . Nays - none ) .
LOCAL LAW # 9
Motion by Supervisor Raffensperger , seconded by Councilman Niklas ,
A LOCAL LAW AMENDING THE ZONING ORDINANCE RELATING TO THE
EXTRACTIO14 OR DEPOSIT OF FILL AND RELATED PRODUCTS
The Zoning Ordinance of the Town of Ithaca as re-adopted , amended ,
and revised , effective February 26 , 1968 , and thereafter further
amended , be further amended as follows :
1 . Article XIII , Section 70 is hereby amended to read as follows :
"SECTION 70 . Extraction or Deposit of Fill and Related
Products . In any district no more than 50 cubic yards of
fill , sod , loam , sand , gravel , stone or similar materials
shall. be deposited or removed or offered for sale in any one
year , except in connection with a public work on the property
or the removal of silt or other recently accumulated material
that blocks a normal flow of a water course , without the
special approval of the Board of Appeals . In applying for
such approval , the applicant shall submit to the Board a plan
of the proposed project , showing property lines , and adjacent
public ways , grades and depths of proposed deposit or removal ,
soil types or fill types to be deposited or removed , erosion
control during and after construction , projected duration of
project , proposed regarding and replanting of the property
upon completion of the operation , and such other items as the
Board or Town Engineer may require to adequately review the
proposed project . The Board shall not act until the Town
Engine=er has reviewed such plan and advised the Board that in
the Engineer ' s professional opinion the plan adequately
protects the property and surrounding properties from
significant adverse consequences of such deposit or removal ,
including , when completed , adverse drainage , erosion , visual
or other adverse impacts . Before issuing a special approval ,
the Board shall make the same findings as are required for the
Engineer ' s opinion . In considering the proposed use the Board
shall take into account the distance of the operation from
neighboring property and public ways , the possible detriment
of such use to the future development of the land in question ,
and significant nuisance or detriment of the operation to
neighboring landowners and to the ccmcmmty as a whole . The
Board may impose such conditions upon the applicant as it
deems necessary to protect the general welfare of the
community , which may include a time limit upon operations ,
standards for performance , and the requirements that a
performance bond be posted to insure compliance with the
requirements of this ordinance and with any further reasonable
conditions imposed by the Board . In the event that the
proposed movement of material involves the deposit or
extraction of more than 2 , 500 cubic yards , the matter shall
first be referred to the Planning Board for its recommendation
before the Board of Appeals makes it ' s final decision .
The following are excepted from the requirements set forth above :
Town Board Minutes 24 October 1 , 1990
1 . Any normal building operation in connection with a legal
building permit , such as excavation , filling , or grading ,
shall be exempted from the provisions of this Section
provided , however , that this exception shall apply only where
the total amount of material moved from one place to another
place on the construction site is less than 700 cubic yards
and where the amount of material removed from the construction
site to an off-site location (or brought to the construction
site from an off-site location) is less than 500 cubic yards .
For the purpose of this section a " construction site " consists
of the larger of the following areas .
( a) an area of 30 , 000 square feet in which the proposed
construction is to be located ; or
(b) the area contained within the footprint of the
proposed structure plus an additional 50 feet
adjacent to the perimeter of the proposed structure .
2 . Removal or deposit of fill in connection with the
construction of a septic field or septic system on an
individual lot pursuant to a permit obtained from the Tompkins
County Health Department .
3 . Removal or deposit of fill in connection with
construction in accordance with a site plan approved by the
appropriate Town authority ( e . g . Town Board , Town Planning
Board or Zoning Board of Appeals ) provided that such
construction occurs within three years of the final approval
of such authority .
4 . Removal , movement , or deposit of not more than 500 cubic
yards of fill in an Agricultural Zone in any three year period
in conjunction with one or more bona fide agricultural uses . "
2 . This law shall take effect upon its publication as required by
law .
Supervisor Raffensperger called for a roll call vote .
Councilman Klein Voting Nay
Councilwoman Leary Voting Aye
Councilman Liguori Voting Nay
Councilman Niklas Voting Aye
Councilman Whitcomb Voting Aye
:)upervisor Raffensperger Voting Aye
Local Law No . 9 - 1990 was thereupon declared duly adopted .
PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER A LOCAL LAW AMENDING THE SPRINFU-;ER LAW
RELATING TO THE REQUIREMENTS FOR SPRINKLERS IN DAY CARE FACILITIES
Proof of posting and publication of a notice of public hearing to
consider a local law amending the sprinkler law relating to the
requirements for sprinklers in day care facilities having been
Town Board Minutes 25 October 1 , 1990
presented by the Town Clerk , the Supervisor opened the public
hearing .
Mr . Schickel stated that he had not read the proposed local law but
wished to questioned Section 12 .
Councilman Niklas responded that Section 12 was a new section to be
added to replace the former section 12 and renumbered to be section
13 . This simply says that if you have a child day care center in a
building that would normally require sprinklers then that whole
building would have to have sprinklers .
Town Attorney Barney remarked , it does apply across the board .
Mr . Schickel remarked , there are other instances that that would
apply , what are those , what sort of . . . . . across the board? It
definitely sounds like it is a tightening up . . . . . .
Supervisor Raffensperger and Councilman Niklas both responded
saying it is not , it is just the reverse . Councilman Niklas went
on to say it was to provide a catch 22 , the point is you could have
a building according to Town Law that requires sprinklers but it
might be possible that if part of that building was used for a day
care center that the person owning that building could claim that
according to the day center exemption they would not have to have
sprinklers in the building at all . But because the other part of
the building is being used differently and the law requires them to
have sprinklers , we are not tightening things up we are essentially
keeping it: the way it is . What we are doing , is this law is
essentially loosening the requirement to bring the Town law up in
parity with the State law which essentially permits smoke detectors
to be used in facilities up to but not exceeding 12 for day care .
It ' s a safety measure . What is your objective , your objective is
to protect the children and a smoke detector is just as adequate in
the sense that there is supervision and the children are not
sleeping overnight in that facility and it doesn ' t jeopardize their
well being . At the same time by permitting smoke detectors to used
in lieu of sprinklers your loosening up on the economic constraints
on a day care facility by not requiring them to install sprinklers .
Town Attorney Barney remarked that he thought that was true as to
the day care areas but Mr . Schickel has a point that for example an
existing auditorium does not require sprinklers . But if that
existing auditorium was part of a hotel , under this change , they
would now be required to sprinkler the whole building including the
auditorium ,. Whereas that was clear , he was not sure the Town
wasn ' t requiring that before , but it is now clear that you are
required in any part of a building to have a sprinkler you must
have a sprinkler throughout the entire building .
Mr . Schickel remarked that that was what it sounded like to him .
And that is going to mean that more places are going to be required
to have sprinkler , not fewer .
Town Attorney Barney replied , in so far as you had a mixed use
before that might not have required a sprinkler in part of the
building .
Building Inspector/ Zoning Officer Andrew Frost stated that
basically New York State , the Department of Social Services has
provided through provisions of the Building Code to try to increase
the number of day care providers where day care is being provided
in a home that the provider lives in . The Building Code looks at
that as a group family day care and the fire safety requirements
are a lot more lenient . Our Zoning Ordinance under the original
Sprinkler Ordinance would require a day care operation , from eight
Town Board Minutes 26 October 1 , 1990
to twelve children , to install a sprinkler system . This was
changed to basically say if you have up to twelve children and you
are providing care in a have where you reside you do not have to
install sprinklers . Everything else is the way it was .
Mr . Schick{el remarked that if he understood the language correctly
then if you have a day care center in a mixed used building and the
other portion of the building requires sprinklers then you have to
put them in the day care center . He asked if that was correct?
Town Attoi:ney Barney replied , that is correct .
Mr . Schickel continued , saying then that what he was say was that
that was not loosening up . It doesn ' t seem like that is making it
easier for day care .
Town Attorney Barney replied , except that you very rarely have day
care operations in areas where you have another use that requires
sprinklers .
Mr . Schickel remarked that his fear was that you are bringing in
mixed use buildings and there may be situations not being brought
up here which may effect them adversely .
Councilman Niklas replied , right now the law requires them to have
sprinklers whether it ' s mixed use or not .
Town Attorney Barney remarked that Mr . Schickel is directing it to
the more general question of mixed use , leaving child care out of
it .
Mr . Frost replied that State Code in mixed occupancy is still
rather lenient and the only mixed occupancy you can have with day
care is a residential occupancy . Once you go to something mixed
beyond that , a retail store , doctors office , etc . , all of a sudden
YOU have EL whole bunch of fire codes that come in to play . The
mixed use buildings , as defined here , really hasn ' t changed
anything and really the State Code becomes more strict when you
have mixed use .
As no one else present wished to speak , the Supervisor closed the
public hearing .
SEQR
RESOLUTION N0 . 244
Motion by Councilman Klein , seconded by Councilman Liguori ,
RESOLVED , i:hat the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca hereby declare
a negative determination of environmental significance .
(Raffensperger , Whitcanb , Leary , Klein , Liguori and Niklas voting
Aye . Nays - none ) .
LOCAL LAW #; 10 - 1990
Motion by Councilman Niklas ; seconded by Councilman Whitcanb ,
A LOCAL LATOT AMENDING THE SPRIlVKKLR LAW RELATING TO THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR SPRINfgBRS IN DAY CARE FACILITIES
Town Board Minutes 27 October 1 , 1990
Section 1 . This local law shall apply to all parts of the Town of
Ithaca outside the Village of Cayuga Heights ,
Section 2 . Local Law No . 7 of the Town of Ithaca for the year 1988
entitled "A LOCAL LAW REQUIRING SPRINKLER SYSTEMS TO BE INSTALLED
IN BUILDINGS IN THE TOWN OF ITHACA" as amended by Local Law No . 10
for the year 1988 is amended as follows :
1 . Section 2 entitled "Definition " is amended by relabeling
the title to the subdivision to read "Definitions " and by
adding a second definition reading as follows :
" ' Smoke Detector ' shall mean a smoke detector approved by the
Town of Ithaca Building Inspector . Such approval shall be
givers by such officer if the smoke detector , as installed ,
whether battery powered or hard-wired , meets the requirements
of the New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building
Code , the National Fire Protection Association , or other
nationally recognized approval organizations as determined by
the Town Building Inspector . "
29 Section 3 , Subdivision 40 , is amended to read as follows :
" 40 . Any building in which child care is provided for hire
for more than three children unless smoke detectors are
provided in all rooms of the facility ( except kitchens ,
bathrooms , and enclosed closets of 50 square feet or less in
area ) in which event no sprinkler system shall be required
unless child care is provided for hire for more than twelve
children . The exceptions permitted by this subdivision shall
not alter the requirements for sprinkler systems in day-care
centers . "
30 Section 4 , Subdivision ( 4 ) is deleted .
40 Section 4 , Subdivision ( 11 ) is amended to read as
follows :
Any building in which child care is provided for hire
for more than three children , except that if smoke detectors
are provided in every roan in the building except kitchens ,
bathrooms , and enclosed closets with 50 square feet of area or
less , sprinkler systems shall not be required unless child
care is provided for hire for more than twelve children . "
5 . A new Section 12 is added , and former Section 12
renumbered to be Section 13 , the new Section 12 reading as
follows :
" Section 12 . Mixed use buildings . If there is more than one
use in a building , and one of the uses in the building
requires sprinklers , the entire building shall have sprinklers
installed . "
Town Board Minutes 28 October 1 , 1990
Section .3 . If any section of this local law shall be held
unconstitutional , invalid , or ineffective , in whole or in part ,
such determination shall not be deeded to affect , impair or
invalidate the remainder thereof .
Section 4 . This local law shall take effect immediately .
Supervisor Raffensperger called for a roll call vote .
Councilman Klein Voting Aye
Councilwcman Leary Voting Aye
Councilman Liguori Voting Aye
Councilman Niklas Voting Aye
Councilman Whitccmb Voting Aye
Supervisor Raffensperger Voting Aye
Local Law No . 10 - 1990 was thereupon declared duly adopted .
PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER A LOCAL LAW AMENDING THE ZONING
ORDINANCE TO ELIMINATE ADDITIONAL YARD REQUIREMENTS ON IRREGULAR
LOTS
Proof of posting and publication of a notice of public hearing to
consider amending the Zoning ordinance to eliminate additional yard
requirements on irregular lots having been presented by the Town
Clerk , the Supervisor opened the public hearing .
Mr . Schickel stated that he felt this was great . He noted that he
had been to a ZBA hearing and he knew this had come up a number of
times and he was in full support of trying to streamline the
ordinance to make it easier to fit houses on lots .
As no one else wished to speak , the Supervisor closed the public
hearing .
RESOLUTION N0 . 245
Motion by Councilman Niklas ; seconded by Councilman Liguori ,
RESOLVED , that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca hereby declare
a negative determination of environmental significance .
(Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori and Niklas voting
Aye . Nays - none ) .
LOCAL LAW # 11 - 1990
Motion by Councilman Niklas ; seconded by Councilman Whitcomb ,
A LOCAL LAW AMENDING THE ZONING ORDINANCE TO ELIMINATE ADDITIONAL
YARD REQUIIUMUS ON IRREGULAR LOTS
Section L. The Zoning Ordinance of the Town of Ithaca as
re-adopted amended and revised , effective February 26 , 1968 , and
subsequently amended , be further amended as follows :
i . Article III , Section 7 , is amended by deleting the
paragraph beginning "Notwithstanding the foregoing , . . . " and
Town Board Minutes 29 October 1 , 1990
ending " shall be increased on each side by ten feet . "
29 Article IV , Section 14 , is amended by deleting the
paragraph beginning "Notwithstanding the foregoing , . . . " and
ending " shall be increased on each side by ten feet . "
39 Article V . Section 21 , is amended by deleting the
paragraph beginning "Notwithstanding the forgoing , . . . " and
ending " . . . shall be increased on each side by ten feet . "
Section 2 . In the event any portion of this 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 30 This local law shall take effect ten days after its
publication pursuant to applicable provisions of 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
Councilman Whitcomb Voting Aye
Supervisor Raffensperger Voting Aye
Local Law No . 11 - 1990 was thereupon declared duly adopted .
EXECUTIVE SESSION
RESOLUTION N0 . 246
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 a matter of potential litigation .
( Raffensperger , Whitcanb , Leary , Klein , Liguori and Niklas voting
Aye . Nays - none) .
OPEN SESSION
RESOLUTION N0 . 247
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 and Niklas voting
Aye . Nays - none )
TOWN OF ITIACA 1991 TENTATIVE BUDGET
Town Board Minutes 30 October 1 , 1990
Councilman Whitcomb asked Supervisor Raffensperger to repeat the
explanation on the sales tax in the Part-town portion of the
budget .
Supervisor Raffensperger stated that sales tax is being applied to
Part-town .
Councilman Whitcomb replied , one hundred percent .
Supervisor Raffensperger replied that is right , one way or another .
It is either in the Part-town fund or it is credited against the
fire charges which is a Part-town function so all the sales tax is
in Part-town , one way or another . The Supervisor noted that there
was no mortgage tax in Part-town , it is all in Town-wide , as is
required . In the Part-Town appropriations she noted that on page 8
the Board would see that some of the bus operations have been
switched from Part-town to Town-wide , again to equalize the tax
burden . She noted that on page 9 there was a $ 15 , 000 cost for
Mitchell Street/Ellis Hollow Road walkway will be reduced by about
$ 13 , 500 in so called contributions and accumulated interest in the
account . Cornell put $ 10 , 000 in that , Ide ' s Bowling Lanes $ 2 , 000
and the remainder is accumulated interest . The CAC figures are net
after estimated DEC reimbursement . The South Hill Trail
acquisition and construction are net after the grant reimbursement .
Councilman Klein asked if when one years budget is not depleated is
it carried forward and spent or does it end up as fund balance .
Supervisor Raffensperger replied , it goes into the fund balance and
is then reappropriated into an account . If at the end of this year
there was $ 10 , 000 left in an account , if you wanted to use that
$ 10 , 000 you would have to put it in the new budget as a $ 10 , 000
item for that function .
Councilman Whitcomb remarked , the CAC budget doesn ' t really mean
that the CAC is costing the Town $ 7 , 955 because a lot of that money
would have been spent whether or not there was a CAC and has been
allocated as a reasonable expense that the CAC might incur .
Supervisor Raffensperger replied that Councilman Whitcomb was
right . There are functions that the Town would have performed any
how because they wished to , which the CAC is now doing and is
allocated -to their lines because it makes it possible to apply for
reimbursement . CAC figures are not after DEC reimbursement . She
went on to note the Highway Fund , noting they did not get the large
increases as they have in years past . On page 12 there are some
permanent improvement items , $ 20 , 000 for Park Lane Extension for
drainage work which the Town is obligated to do and $ 20 , 000 for
repairs to the Forest Home bridges . Under Machinery Equipment , the
budget includes a pick-up truck and a backhoe . The additional
funds which are budgeted will be rolled over into the Machinery
Reserve Fund , this is one of those exceptions , at the end 1991 to
be used in 1992 in addition to 1992 money for a piece of major
equipment .
The Supervisor mentioned the Water Fund which has run a deficit for
two years is now recovering and should have a modest fund balance
at the end of the year . There are many deferred maintenance
projects to be accomplished in the next several years . The Water
i Budget for 1991 includes funds for tank security improvements and
tank and pLup station improvements . In the Sewer Budget she stated
that she was recommending and would ask for a public hearing to be
set for an increase in the sewer rent rate from $ . 85 to $ . 90 per
100 cubic feet in order for the Town to recover the Town ' s share of
the Wastewater Treatment Plant ' s budget increase and the increased
1991 levy occasioned by the shortening of two quarters of the
Town Board Minutes 31 October 1 , 1990
consumption assessment line . The Sewer Fund includes two new
items , $ 50 , 000 for the Northeast Sewer rehab and $ 50 , 000 for City
payment joint sewers . The City payment joint sewers is something
that has been a hold over from the past . The Town should have , in
the past , negotiated this contract for the payment of their fair
share of -the operating and maintenance costs of City sewers used to
transmit 'Town sewage to the Wastewater Treatment Plant . She noted
that in August the Town Board had authorized a consultant ' s
analysis of this and there was no doubt , she felt , that the Town
would be paying some money next year and probably a great deal more
than she had in the budget but there is sufficient fund balance to
enable the Town to meet its obligation . Also , she felt there would
be close out costs for the Wastewater Treatment Plant grant but she
had not been able to find a paper trail on that .
Supervisor Raffensperger went on to note that the Fire Budget
basically reflects the contractual costs for 1991 and the tax levy
for the Fire budget was reduced by using $ 194 , 000 of sales tax
revenue . On page 22 the estimated year end fund balances are
listed . She asked the Board members to look over the proposed
budget and budget message before the public hearing in November .
PRESENTATION OF THE 1991 SOUTHERN CAYUGA LAKE INTERMUNICIPAL WATER
COMMISSION TENTATIVE BUDGET
Supervisor Raffensperger stated that she would be glad to answer
any questions and that Noel Desch who was a commissioner and
representing the Town of Ithaca has offered to come to the budget
hearing in November to answer any specific concerns the Board might
have about the Bolton Point budget . She noted that the Ccnanission
did have a substantial fund balance which it was felt was needed
because of unexpected and costly repair items .
1991 ELECTED OFFICIALS SALARIES
Supervisor Raffensperger noted that it was necessary to approve the
1991 elected officials salaries as they have to be advertised . It
was proposed that Town Board members salary increase from $ 4 , 700 to
$ 5 , 000 , Town Justices fran $ 9 , 000 to $ 9 , 500 and the Town Supervisor
from $ 18 , 000 to $ 19 , 000 . These are consistent with those in the
past and within the 5 % guidelines .
RESOLUTION N0 . 248
Motion by Supervisor Raffensperger ; seconded by Councilman Liguori ,
RESOLVED , ..hat the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca hereby approve
the 1991 elected officials salaries of $ 5 , 000 for Town Board
members , $ 9 , 500 for Town Justices and $ 19 , 000 for Town Supervisor .
(Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori and Niklas voting
Aye . Nays - none ) .
SET DATE FOR PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER 1991 TOWN OF ITHACA
PRELIMINARY BUDGET
RESOLUTION NO . 249
Motion by Supervisor Raffensperger ; seconded by Councilman
Whitcomb ,
RESOLVED , that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca will meet and
conduct a public hearing at 7 : 00 P . M . , on November 8 , 1990 , to
consider approval of the 1991 Town of Ithaca Preliminary Budget .
Town Board Minutes 32 October 1 , 1990
( Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori and Niklas voting
Aye . Nays - none ) .
SET DATE FOR PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER 1991 SOUTHERN CAYUGA LAKE
INTERMUNICIPAL WATER COMMISSION PRELIMINARY BUDGET
RESOLUTION NO . 250
Motion by Councilman Niklas ; seconded by Councilman Liguori ,
RESOLVED , that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca will meet and
conduct a public hearing at 7 : 30 P . M . , on November 8 , 1990 , to
consider approval of the 1991 Southern Cayuga Lake Intermunicipal
Water Commission Preliminary Budget .
(Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori and Niklas voting
Aye . Nays - none ) .
SET DATE FOR PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER FOREST HOME LIGHTING
DISTRICT BUDGET
RESOLUTION' N0 . 251
Motion by Councilman Niklas ; seconded by Councilman Whitcomb ,
RESOLVED , that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca will meet and
conduct a public hearing at 7 : 45 P . M . , on November 8 , 1990 , to
consider approval of the Forest Home Lighting District budget for
1991 .
( Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori and Niklas voting
Aye . Nays - none ) .
SET DATE FOR PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER GLENSIDE LIGHTING DISTRICT
BUDGET
RESOLUTION N0 . 252
Motion by Councilman Niklas ; seconded by Councilman Liguori ,
RESOLVED , that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca will meet and
conduct a public hearing at 7 : 46 P . M . , on November 8 , 1990 , to
consider approval of the Glenside Lighting District budget for
1991 .
( Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori and Niklas voting
Aye . Nays - none) .
SET DATE FOR PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER RENWICK HEIGHTS LIGHTING
DISTRICT BUDGET
RESOLUTION N0 . 253
Motion by Supervisor Raffensperger ; seconded by Councilman Niklas ,
RESOLVED , that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca will meet and
conduct a public hearing at 7 : 47 P . M . , on November 8 , 1990 , to
consider approval of the Renwick Heights Lighting District budget
for 1991 .
(Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori and Niklas voting
Aye . Nays - none ) .
Town Board Minutes 33 October 1 , 1990
SET DATE FOR PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER EASTWOOD COMMONS LIGHTING
DISTRICT BUDGET
RESOLUTION NO . 254
Motion by Councilman Niklas ; seconded by Councilman Liguori ,
RESOLVED , that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca will meet and
conduct a public hearing at 7 : 48 P . M . , on November 8 , 1990 , to
consider approval of the Eastwood Commons Lighting District budget
for 1991 .
( Raffensparger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori and Niklas voting
Aye . Nays - none) .
SET DATE FOR PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER CLOVER LANE LIGHTING
DISTRICT BUDGET
RESOLUTION NO . 255
Motion by Councilman Whitcomb ; seconded by Councilman Niklas ,
RESOLVED , that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca will meet and
conduct a public hearing at 7 : 49 P . M . , on November 80P 1990 , to
consider approval of the Clover Lane Lighting District budget for
1991 .
( Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori and Niklas voting
Aye . Nays, - none ) .
SET DATE FOR PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER WINNERS CIRCLE LIGHTING
DISTRICT BUDGET
RESOLUTION NO . 256
Motion by Councilman Liguori ; seconded by Councilman Niklas ,
RESOLVED , that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca will meet and
conduct a public hearing at 7 : 50 P . M . , on November 8 , 1990 , to
consider approval of the Winners Circle Lighting District budget
for 1991 .
(Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori and Niklas voting
Aye . Nays - none ) .
SET DATE FOR PUBLIC HEARING ON 1991 ASSESSMENT ROLLS FOR SPECIAL
BENEFIT DISTRICTS
RESOLUTION NO . 257
Motion by Supervisor Raffensperger ; seconded by Councilman Niklas ,
RESOLVED , that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca will meet and
conduct a public hearing at 7 : 51 P . M . , on November 8 , 1990 to
consider approval of the 1991 Assessment Rolls for the water and
sewer Benefit Assessment Roll .
( Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori and Niklas voting
Aye . Nays - none ) .
AWARD OF BID FOR TWO USED HIGHWAY VEHICLES
���ts bll�f®illaLL0i9�A ild1�lIYIIgt�IM11NAY�M111��
Town Board Minutes 34 October 1 , 1990
Supervisor Raffensperger noted that two bids were received , one for
the 1978 Dodge for $ 25 . 00 and the second one for the 1980 Dodge for
$ 50 . 006 She stated that she had discussed this with the Highway
Superintendent and she understood that they barely meet the
definition . One of them is not inspectable at this point and would
require about $500 of repairs to make it inspectable .
Town Highway Superintendent Scott McConnell stated that the pickups
were eleven and thirteen years old , one will not meet inspection
and the other one leaks fluids out of many components .
RESOLUTION NO . 258
Motion by Councilman Niklas ; seconded by Councilman Liguori ,
RESOLVED , that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca hereby accept
the bid of $25 . 00 for the 1978 Dodge Pick-up truck and $50 . 00 for
the 1980 Dodge Pick-up .
( Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori and Niklas voting
Aye . Nays - none) .
SEPTEMBER 'DOWN BOARD MINUTES
Councilman Klein stated that he had one correction , that being on
page 18 where he stated he rambled a bit and he was not exactly
sure what he was saying but the second to the last sentence in that
large paragraph where he says . . . . . . . and they really didn ' t have the
expertise to deal with it . He felt the " it" , he thought he meant
to say the experience with special approvals .
RESOLUTION N0 . 259
Motion by Councilman Whitcomb ; seconded by Councilman Liguori ,
RESOLVED , that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca hereby approve
the September 10 , 1990 Town Board minutes as amended .
( Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori and Niklas voting
Aye . Nays - none) .
SET DATE FOR PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER AN INCREASE IN THE SEWER
RENT CHARGE
RESOLUTION N0 . 260
Motion by Councilman Niklas ; seconded by Councilman Whitcomb ,
RESOLVED , i:hat the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca will meet and
hold a public hearing at 8 : 00 P . M . , on November 8 , 1990 to consider
increasing the sewer rent charges from $ . 85 to $ . 90 per 100 cubic
feet .
( Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori and Niklas voting
Aye . Nays - none) .
CONSIDER PI,;ANNING BOARD AND ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS RECOMMEN ATION
AND APPROVAL OF SHORT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT FORM
Supervisor Raffensperger noted that the Tawas Board had a resolution
from the Planning Board approving the short environmental
assessment form , however , she needed to ask the Building
Town Board Minutes 35 October 1 , 1990
Inspector/ Zoning Officer what the ZBA ' s recommendation was on this
particular matter .
Mr . Frost noted that the ZBA received a response regarding page 2 ,
C- 1 , the old form had solid waste production and disposal , the new
form omitted disposal and Edward Austen thought that ought to be
included .
Supervisor Raffensperger replied that she thought that that was
just one of those things that happen when a form was redone . So ,
we do have a written recommendation from the Planning Board and no
descent other than that minor correction from the Board of Zoning
Appeals .
Councilman Niklas stated that he had a question about section d ,
" is there , or is there likely to be , controversy related to
potential adverse environmental impacts " . He was not sure if this
really elicits very useful information because it is so totally
subjective and he wondered if it might say "have you contacted
owners of property contiguous with this site , if so , please give
their names and addresses " . He felt it would be interesting or
important to simply know whether or not the local landowners , the
neighboring adjacent landowners , are aware that a project is being
initiated or evaluated at the Town level . He knew the Town had a
policy of mailing to homeowners or landowners immediately adjacent
to an area that is going to be given site plan approval or
preliminary sketch plan approval but it would seem to him a little
bit more objective to ask a question that can be verified or not .
Supervisor Raffensperger replied that this has always been in the
Town ' s form and she felt it came straight from the State ' s form .
She felt it was an interesting idea but she thought that if
Councilman Niklas wished to pursue this draw up scene language and
it would , at least , have to go back to the Planning Board and the
Zoning Board of Appeals .
Councilman Whitcomb remarked that he thought it was a good idea but
that he thought it had to be in there pretty much as it was because
it is one of the things that would trigger the long form .
Councilman Niklas asked who would check that box yes or no ?
Town Planner Beeners replied that at the present time it would be
the Town who would fill out part 2 .
Councilman Niklas remarked that the reason he was bringing this up
because it, was once suggested to him , as Chair of Codes and
Ordinance , that it be a requirement that an applicant for a
building permit or site plan approval or someone going through the
preliminary sketch plan approval put a sign on the property that
would be visible to the neighbors that some activity was going to
be carried out on that property .
Councilman Whitcomb stated that he thought they had a resolution on
their Thursday ' s agenda to request this .
It was suggested that New York State be removed from the title ,
making the title "Town of Ithaca Environmental Review" .
RESOLUTION NO . 261
Motion by Councilman Whitcomb ; seconded by Supervisor
Raf fenspergc[ex ,
RESOLVED , that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca hereby approve
the revised Town of Ithaca short environmental assessment form .
Town Board Minutes 36 October 1 , 1990
(Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori and Niklas voting
Aye , Nay: - none ) ,
LOCATION OF PROPOSED ROAD AND OTHER. PUBLIC UTILITIES WITH CLEAR
RIGHT FOR SEWER ACROSS POYER PROPERTY , PROPOSED TILITZ SUBDIVISION
Town Engineer Dan Walker stated that this was a subdivision that
received preliminary approval February 1989 . It was held up
because of some controversy over the use of an easement that we had
obtained as part of the Poyer Subdivision ,
Town Attorney Barney noted that the attorney for Poyer was
reviewing the easements .
The Town Engineer noted that Mr . Poyer had a disagreement with use
of the easement for the sewer line but that has been cleared up
now . That easement will also be part of a trail system.
Supervisor Raffensperger asked if there was any other public open
space in this subdivision?
Town Planner Beeners replied no , at the time it was approved it was
looked at that the improvement of the trail within the walkway area
would roughly equate to the 10 % but would be subject to a little
more justification .
RESOLUTION N0 , 262
Motion by Councilman Niklas ; seconded by Councilwoman Leary ,
WHEREAS , with respect to the proposed subdivision of Town of Ithaca
Tax Parcel No . 23 -1-29 , located at 1445 Trumansburg Road , as
proposed by John Tilitz , the Town of Ithaca Planning Board acting
as lead agency in the environmental review of this unlisted action ,
has made a negative determination of environmental significance for
this action , and
WHEREAS , the Planning Board granted Preliminary Subdivision
approval to the subdivision as proposed on February 7 , 1989 ,
conditioned upon approval of the locations of the proposed road ,
trailway , and other public facilities , prior to consideration of
final subdivision approval , and
WHEREAS , the Town Attorney and the Town Engineer have reviewed
proposed easements from adjoining lands relating to the sewer
extension , and the final approval and filing of these easements are
pending , and
WHEREAS , the Town Engineer has reviewed the preliminary plans for
the road and utilities and has determined that construction of
these improvements by the developer is feasible , and
WHEREAS , the Town Engineer has recommended acceptance of the
locations of the road and public facilities for this proposed
subdivision ,
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED , that the Town Board of the Town of
Ithaca hereby accepts the location of the proposed road and public
utilities as proposed conditional on the Town receiving title to
the required area for sewer easement purposes from Kenneth Poyer .
( Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori and Niklas voting
Aye . Nays - none ) .
Town Board Minutes 37 October 1 , 1990
AUTHORIZ12IG PLANNING , PARKS AND ENGINEERING DEPARTMENTS ATTENDANCE
AT VARIOUS CONFERENCES
Supervisor Raffensperger noted that there were four proposed
conferences to be attended .
Councilman Whitccmb remarked that their might be a CAC member or
members who might want to attend the Environmental Management
Council/Conservation Advisory Council 1990 Conference on the
Environment .
Supervisor Raffensperger suggested one member of the CAC be
authorized. to attend .
RESOLUTION NO . 263
Motion by Supervisor Raffensperger ; seconded by Councilman Niklas ,
RESOLVED , that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca authorizes the
attendance of various Town staff members at the following October
1990 conferences , as follows , with the costs therefore to be
charged to the appropriate account for conferences .
( a ) New York State Finger Lakes Regional Park Planning Conference ,
Watkins Glen , October 3 , 1990 from 9 : 30 A . M . to 5 : 00 P . M . ,
Richard Schoch , no fee , charge for lunch .
(b) Soil :Interpretation Workshop , Montour Falls , October 11 , 1990 ,
9 : 30 A . M . to 4 : 00 P . M . , Susan Beeners and Richard Schoch , fee
$ 20 . 00 per person , includes lunch .
( c ) New York State Geographic Information Systems Conference ,
Syracuse , October 15 and 16 , 1990 , Daniel Walker and Susan
Beeners , approximately $ 200 total .
(d) Environmental Management Council/Conservation Advisory Council
1990 conference on the Environment , Saratoga Springs , October
19 and 20 , 1990 , Susan Beeners and one member of the CAC ,
approximately $ 150 each .
( Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori and Niklas voting
Aye . Nays - none) .
SET DATE FOR PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER AMENDING LOCAL LAW # 2 , 1970
(ETHICS )
Councilwcmm Leary noted that as the Committee met the last time to
produce the changes that were suggested , she received a memo from
Assemblyman Luster ' s office which she has shared with the other
Committee members , however , they have not had a chance to meet to
respond to it . The memo itself was from the Temporary State
Commission on Local Government Ethics and was addressed to
municipalities over 50 , 000 , so it technically did not apply to the
Town of Ithaca but there were parts of it saying that if you were
under 50 , 000 you have to do this . She stated that she had called
the Commission to ask them what they meant and why was it not
addressed to the Town if there are certain requirements for Towns
under 50 , (100 . The person said basically that they were so
concerned about those over 50 , 000 that they hadn ' t actually sent it
to those under 50 , 000 .
Supervisor Raffensperger remarked that the Town had received ,
today , a notice that we must file some kind of a statement that we
have a population under 50 , 000 .
Town Board Minutes 38 October 1 , 1990
Councilman Whitcomb replied that is one of the options , you can say
you have a population of less than 50 , 000 and you are going to
ignore it .,
Councilwoman Leary replied but the memo he sent is very long and
involved (and one of the reasons she had called him was that it
looked li}:e if we did anything like establish financial disclosure
or establish , especially , a Ethics Board we would have to let them
know about. it and they would have to look at what we did and kind
of pass on it . That was why she thought the Town Attorney should
talk to this man at the Commission to see how deeply we can get
into this , if we do anything at all . She went on to say that the
only potential change , she thought , from reading what he wrote was
in the financial disclosure form . On our suggested law we don ' t
have anything about income . He sent her kind of a model form which
has categories of income , they are kind of broad categories but
they still. ask you to supply an income within that category . That
was the only thing , she thought , that kind of deviates from what
they had that they may have to change if they go ahead with it .
You still have to pass or make a resolution to continue your old
law, at the very least because in 1970 all municipalities
regardless of size had to pass an ethics law and that is what we
did , that ' s the 1970 law.
Supervisor Raffensperger replied that she thought the 50 , 000 and
over only had to do with the financial disclosure form not with
having an ethics law .
Councilwoman Leary replied , they are real concerned about the
financial disclosure but when she asked him about that he said that
if you opt. to have an Ethics Board you have to do the rest of it
too .
Supervisor Raffensperger remarked that she thought it needed to be
looked at , obviously , and she assumed that the Committee and the
Town Attorney can look at this and see where we stand on this .
Councilman Whitcomb noted that the first time the Committee had
drafted a new law it was mailed to the Planning Board and the
Zoning Board of Appeals members and other Town officials for their
comments and he was wondering if it turns out that we do continue
with this document if it shouldn ' t be mailed out again for
additional comment before a public hearing .
Supervisor Raffensperger replied that when the Board set the public
hearing there would be a month and then it can be sent to them for
their comments before the public hearing .
Councilman Liguori remarked that he noticed that their was some
inconsistency here , at least he read it that way , in regard to the
time limitation some places you say twelve months and in other
places it ' s two years . Also , he was glad that the Committee had
not gotten down to where you only have to worry about contiguous
property to Town line but in some places you have still left in
five miles .
Councilwomen Leary replied , that part was a typo . If you have any
comments in the meantime let the Committee know . She went on to
say that they had tried to address the major concerns that the
people have .
Councilman Liguori went on to say that he got the impression that
somebody can ' t lobby a Board member? Can ' t influence a Board
member to vote ?
Councilwoman Leary replied , you just can ' t bribe them .
Town Board Minutes 39 October 1 , 1990
Councilman Liguori replied , you can then influence then, lobby is
permitted.?
Councilwoman Leary replied , sure .
Town Attorney Barney remarked that he felt it depended on in what
capacity you are lobbying , if you are lobbying as a representative
of somebody you probably cannot do but if you are lobbying on your
own that is different .
TOWN OF ITHACA WARRANTS
RESOLUTION N0 . 264
Motion by Councilman Niklas ; seconded by Councilman Klein ,
RESOLVED , that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca hereby approves
the Town of Ithaca Warrants dated October 1 , 1990 , in the following
amounts :
General Fund - Town Wide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 48 , 616 . 06
General Fund - Outside Village . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 59 , 719 . 93
Highway Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 25 , 701 . 51
Water & Sewer Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 159 , 437 . 52
Capital Projects Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 11 , 812 . 00
Lighting District Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $ 465 . 22
Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori and Niklas voting
Aye . Nays - none ) .
BOLTON POINT WARRANTS
RESOLUTION NO . 265
Motion by Supervisor Raffensperger ; seconded by Councilman
Whitcomb ,
RESOLVED , that the Bolton Point Warrants dated October 1 , 1990 , in
the Operating Account are hereby approved in the amount of
$ 39 , 903 . 67 conditional upon the approval of the Southern Cayuga
Lake Intermunicipal Water Commission at it ' s audit meeting next
week .
( Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori and Ni klas voting
Aye . Nays - none ) .
EXECUTIVE SESSION
RESOLUTION N0 . 266
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 condemnation proceedings and the
institution of a law suit on Taughannock Boulevard property , two
lot subdivision and the institution of a law suit .
(Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori and Niklas voting
Aye . Nays - none) .
OPEN SESSION
Town Board Minutes 40 October 1 , 1990
RESOLUTION N0 , 267
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 and Niklas voting
Aye . Nays - none ) .
LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
RESOLUTION' NO . 268
Motion by Councilman Niklas ; seconded by Councilman Liguori ,
RESOLVED , that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca hereby
authorize the Attorney ' s for the Town to institute legal
proceedings , if compliance cannot be obtained voluntarily , against
the appropriate parties regarding the two lot subdivision on
Taughannock Boulevard .
( Raffensperger , Whitcomb , Leary , Klein , Liguori and Niklas voting
Aye . Nays - none ) .
Councilman Niklas stated that it had never been spelled out to him
and since he was new to the Town Board he wondered exactly to what
extent is what ' s being discussed in Executive Session discussed out
of Executive Session . He went on to say that it was never clear
because there are things that we have talked about in Executive
Session that have actually been discussed , without mentioning names
and all other stuff , that have actually been discussed at Ccnmittee
meetings and sometimes in public . Where are the boundaries about
what is discussed and what isn ' t discussed? He stated that he felt
he should know so as not to breach those boundaries accidently .
Town Attonaey Barney replied , normally scmething that is discussed
in Executive Session is intented to be confidential until such time
as a reason for the confidence no longer exists . For example , you
discuss a eminent domain proceeding , that should be kept
confidential among the Board members , once the proceeding is
brought and it is now a matter of public record , of course it can
be discussed in public , at least those portions of it .
Councilman Niklas remarked , so once the Town , for example , would
institute legal action and it becomes a matter of record it is not
privileged information .
Town Attorney Barney replied , the reason for the confidence is not
there . He stated that he did not recommend that everybody run
around tal. pdng about what was discussed . On the South Hill Trail ,
we had an application made by the petitioners to have open court
testimony as to what happened in Executive Session and the Judge
excluded it. on the basis that it was confidential , number one , and
number two , the discussion involved attorney/client privileged
information and therefore it was not opened . That confidence , the
attorney/client confidence can be broken if scnebody discloses what
we talked about , then you basically waive the privilege for the
Town . So if there is something we talk about in a legal manner it
should not be discussed outside because that privilege would no
longer be available if court proceedings were to follow .
ADJOURN =1
Town Board Minutes 41 October 1 , 1990
The meeting was duly adjourned .
Clerk
AFFIDAVIT OF' PUBL1CAT1010'
THE ITHik.. CA JOURNAL
State of New York , Tompkins County , ss . :
Gail Sullins being duly sworn , deposes and
says , that she/ he resides in Ithaca , county and state aforesaid and that
she/ he is Clerk
TOWN OF ITHACA
of The Ithaca Journal a public newspaper printed and published in NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING PLEASE TAKE NOTICE, that the ,
Town Board of the Town of
Ithaca aforesaid , and that a notice , of which the annexed is a true Ithaca will meet and conduct
a public hearing on October 1 ,
copy , was published in said paper 1990, at 7 :00 P. M:, at the
Town Hall , 126 East Seneca
Street, Ithaca, New York, to
nn 9 '
o consider a local low amend
ing the Zoning Ordinance re
' luting to the extraction or de-
posit of fill and related
products and will at this time
hear all persons_in favor of or
opposed to ' the . adoption of
said local law.
Jean H . Swartwood
Town Clerk
#$d that the first publication. of said notice was on the � � September 2% 1990
y of , ..� �� 19 C -
� fl S
Subscribed and sworn to before me , this day
of _ 19 1 (�
Notary Public .
JEAN FORD
!Votary Public, State of New York
No. 4654410
Qualified in Tompkins County r
Commission expires May 31, 190po !
2 �
AFFIDAVIT OF PUBLICA TION
THE ITHACA JOURNAL
State of New York , Tompkins County , ss . :
Gail Sullins being. duly sworn , deposes and
says , that she/he resides in Ithaca , county and state aforesaid and that
she/ he is Clerk
of The Ithaca Journal a public newspaper printed and published in
Ithaca aforesaid , and that a notice , of which the annexed is a true
copy . was published in said paper —
TOWN OF ITHACA
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE, that the
� � Town Board of the Town of
Ithaca will meet and conduct
a public hearing on October 1 ,
1990, at 7: 15 P. M. , at the
Town Hall, 126 East Seneca
Street, Ithaca, New York' to
consider a local law amend-
ing the Sprinkler Law relating
first publication of said notice was on the to the requirements for sp and
d that the
p � klers in day care facilities and
1way Of �. LJ` will at this time hear all per-
C• Y 19 sons in favor of or 'opposed .
the adoption of said local law.
Jean H . Swartwood
C� Town Clerk
September 21 , 1990
Subscribed and sworn to before me , this 1 day
of , , 19
Notary Public .
JEAN FORD
Notary Public, State of New York-
No. 4654410
Qualified in Tompkins County /
ommission expires May 31, 19 .81
L_
AF,F'IDAVIT OFPC/BLICATION
HE ITHACA JOURNAL
State of New York , Tompkins County , ss . :
Gail Sullins being duly sworn , deposes and
says , that she/ he resides in Ithaca . county and state aforesaid and that
she/ he is Clerk
of The Ithaca Journal a public newspaper printed and published in
Ithaca aforesaid , and that a notice , of which the annexed is a true TOWN OF ITHACA
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING.
copy , was published in said paper PLEASE TAKE NOTICE, that the:
Town Board of - the Town of
Ithaca will meet and conduct
a public hearing an October l ; I
fYt� 1 1 1990, at 7 :30 . P.M. , at - the*.
T_ Town Hall, 126 East Seneca.
Street, Ithaca, New York, to
consider a local law amend-
ing the Zoning Ordinance to '
eliminate additional yard re-
quirements on irregular lots'
and will at this time hear all
d that the first publication of said notice was on the persons s
favor of
p to the adoption of said local
law.
Ifay of 19 , 0 Jean H. Swartwood
Town Clerk
September 21 , 1990
Subscribed and sworn to before me , this day
of� Nl ,, 19
Notary Public .
JEAN FORD
Notary Public, State of New York
No. 4654410
Qualified in Tompkins County /
Commission expires May 31, 19q/