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HomeMy WebLinkAboutTB Minutes 2019-11-18Meeting of the Ithaca Town Board
Monday, November 18, 2019 at 5:30 p.m.
Agenda
1) Call to Order and Pledge of Allegiance
2) Discuss proposed amendment to Tompkins County Ag District 1
3) Discuss and consider setting a Public Hearing regarding changes to Laughing Goat
Conservation Easement
4) Persons to be Heard and Board Comments
5) Discuss Short Term Rental draft legislation
6) Continue discussion on Green New Deal
7) Discuss and consider creation of GIS Analyst position
8) Consider Consent Agenda Items
a. Approval of Town Board Minutes
b. Town of Ithaca Abstract
c. Approval of Bolton Point Abstract
d. Acknowledge Town of Ithaca Independent Audit for 2018
e. Approval of Floating Holiday
f. Set records management day for December 13, 2019 from Sam to 1pm
g. Recommendation to the County Legislature to reappoint of Kelly Sauve as our Youth
Services Board representative
h. Approval of revised Office System Job Classification Listing for 2020
i. Approval of job descriptions — Engineering
j. Approval of Health Consortium wages 2020
9) Report of Town Officials
10) Report of Town Committees/Intermunicipal Organizations
11) Review of Correspondence
12) Consider Adjournment
Meeting of the Ithaca Town Board
Monday, November 18, 2019 at 5:30 p.m.
Minutes
Board Members Present: Bill Goodman, Supervisor; Members Pamela Bleiwas, Pat Leary,
Tee -Ann Hunter, Eric Levine, Rod Howe and Rich DePaolo
Staff Present: Susan Ritter, Director of Planning, Marry Mosely, Asst. Director of Code
Enforcement; Mike Solvig, Director of Finance, Judy Drake, Director of Human Resources;
Paulette Rosa, Town Clerk; Jim Weber, Highway Superintendent and Susan Brock, Attorney for
the Town
1) Call to Order and Pledge of Allegiance
2) Discuss proposed amendment to Tompkins County Ag District 1 — Michael Smith,
Environmental Planner (Reports)
The Board has no questions or comments on the item.
TB Resolution 2019 - 167: Recommendation to the Tompkins County Agriculture and
Farmland Protection Board regarding removing parcels from Tompkins County
Agricultural District No. 1
Whereas, the Tompkins County Legislature along with the Tompkins County Agriculture and
Farmland Protection Board (AFPB) is reviewing Tompkins County Agricultural District No. 1 as
part of the regular 8-year review; and
Whereas, a small portion of Agricultural District No. 1 is in the southeast corner of the Town of
Ithaca; and
Whereas, the AFPB has asked the Town of Ithaca if there are any issues with the existing
boundaries that relate to town plans and if any modifications to the district should be made; and
Whereas, the Town of Ithaca Planning Committee on September 19, 2019 discussed and
reviewed a map prepared by planning staff that identified eight parcels for possible removal from
the district due to the unlikelihood that they would ever be used for agriculture and forwarded
that recommendation to the full Town Board for consideration; now therefore be it
Resolved, that the Town Board hereby recommends to the AFPB that the 8 parcels (Tax Parcel
No.'s 48.-1-14.4, 48.-1-13.22, 48.-1-14.1, 48.-1-13.21, 47.-2-7, 47.-2-6.31, 47.-2-6.54, 47.-2-
6.53) identified on the map titled "Tompkins County Agricultural District 4 1 — Town of Ithaca —
8-Year review — Town Board — Novemberl8, 2019" be removed from the district.
Moved: Rod Howe Seconded: Pat Leary
Vote: ayes — Howe, Leary, Levine, Goodman, Bleiwas, DePaolo and Hunter
TB 2019-11-18 Pg. 1
3) Discuss and consider setting a Public Hearing regarding changes to Laughing Goat
Conservation Easement
Ms. Ritter noted that this has been discussed before and essentially the suggestion is to removing
mowing requirements and allow solar panels, which is in line with our current conservation
easements.
Some discussion followed on whether to remove the mowing requirement throughout the
property as there are some wet areas and other steep areas. The Board agreed to the total
removal of a mowing requirement.
TB Resolution 2019 - 168: Setting a public hearing regarding proposed amendments to the
agricultural conservation easement for the Laughing Goat Fiber Farm (Gary & Lisa
Ferguson)
Resolved, that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca hereby sets a public hearing to be held at
its December 9, 2019 meeting beginning at 5:30 p.m. local time at 215 N. Tioga St, Ithaca
regarding the proposed amendments to the agricultural conservation easement for the Laughing
Goat Fiber Farm (Gary & Lisa Ferguson). All persons interested in the proposed amendments
will be heard at that time.
Moved: Rod Howe Seconded: Tee -Ann Hunter
Vote: ayes — Hunter, Howe, Leary, DePaolo, Levine, Goodman and Bleiwas
4) Persons to be Heard and Board Comments
John Kadar addressed the Board regarding the Gateway Trail project and concerns regarding
flooding if changes are made to the berm. He recounted floods from the past 20-30 year's and he
is very concerned about flooding concerns.
Marie Macrae addressed the Board saying that she was from Dryden but wanted to support the
efforts of Mr. Goldsmith and the Green New Deal. She said what the town does here affects her
in Dryden and everyone else because we are all connected. She felt the actions that we all do
now are important to all of us and especially the young people.
Carolyn Beeman addressed the Board regarding the Gateway Trail and read a prepared
statement. (Attachment 1)
John Powers addressed the Board about the Gateway Trail as a resident of Buttermilk Falls Rd
and read a prepared statement. (Attachment 2)
Samuel Rudin, former resident of Buttermilk Falls Rd who spoke about a destructive flood in the
early 1970's and he is concerned about flooding issues if the opening in the berm is removed. It
is a very traumatic experience to live through as well as expensive and he doesn't want that to
happen again.
TB 2019-11-18 Pg. 2
Barbara Kowslowski, Renwick Heights Rd addressed the Board regarding the draft short-term
rental (STR) legislation. She stated that the draft limits unhosted rentals to 29 days a year and
she asked if this were true even if the host has arranged for someone to be oncall? She thought
that that would be relevant if the host is interested in maintaining good neighbor relations. It also
mentions that the Codes department can provide the number of the person that is on call, but
what if you can't get in touch with the Code department. She thought it might make more sense
to have the Codes department or the host provide contact information to neighbors before
something unfortunate happens.
Her second point has to do with a possible cynical interpretation of the current draft; imagine
somebody buying two adjacent houses where the owner lives in one house and can rent for an
unlimited amount of days and the other house, unhosted, could be rented for 29 days and she
wondered if that possibility had been considered.
She used the example of a in-law house where the owner could live with an 8-bedroom house on
the same lot where unlimited rentals could occur.
Ms. Kowslowski turned to the Mountain View examples and asked about the remedial actions to
resolve complaints and whether that includes paying for damage done by renters? She asked,
more broadly, who does pay for damage done by renters? She said her neighbor had a hedge and
a fence damaged by a renter and the renter refused to pay for it and the host said the renter
should be contacted. She thought this was a serious issue and perhaps needs to be looked into.
Resident spoke about the reference to Mountain View in the draft law saying it seems to him a
person could buy a 6 bedroom house and build a small studio I can essentially open a boutique
hotel. He said if he were a neighbor to such a person, it would matter to him if during the half of
a year when the owner of the boutique hotel isn't there, there is someone he could get in touch
with if something is going on in the residence.
He was concerned about the reference to problems a neighbor had with their property
destruction. He said sometimes they can get in touch with the owner, but they maybe several
hundreds of miles away and if we could get in touch with a local representative who had some
authority, it would have made the situation much, much simpler.
Mia Slotnick, Renwick Heights neighborhood read a prepared statement outlining concerns with
the latest draft. (Attachment 3)
Anthony Haag addressed the Board saying he has a property next to his own so he is one of those
circumstances where the 90 days would affect him. He stated that last year they were unable to
get tenants in at January and the house was vacant until May and given the cyclical nature of the
turnover in this area dues to the colleges, he would just implore the board to changing that time
limit.
Mr. Haag said that when they can't get tenants in they still need to pay the bills and although
they now have tenants with a 2-year lease, and so he wasn't looking at making STR a full time
business, but he is looking to make sure he is able to pay his mortgage and with the number of
TB 2019-11-18 Pg. 3
rental buildings going up in Ithaca, it is a huge concern for the Landlords' Association. He said
they are finding that units that used to fill readily with no problem are harder and harder to fill.
He said it is not that we are charging exorbitant rents, we are just covering our mortgage and this
provides us with the flexibility to have leases off the cycle that most of us depend on
Caroline Greenwald said that when she saw the draft she immediately contacted Mr. Goodman
because this draft has a fundamentally different effect on lakefront properties than any of the
other drafts. She said that the way the draft has been reordered, it reads that there are certain
restrictions that apply to lakefront properties that previously did not. She said she was told that
was unintended and it will be reordered, but she just wanted to point that out to anybody that was
not already aware of that.
Ms. Greenwald said that she was in favor of a balanced approach to rentals in general and she
thought there was a balance in the draft between maintaining communities and characters of
neighborhoods and also the benefits that come from STRs. both for the economic benefit to
homeowners and hosts and also to the community. The people who stay here generally come
here because of the availability of these houses and wouldn't otherwise come and so there is a
benefit that has to be balanced. She wanted the Board to hear both sides and although we might
not be as vocal, we care just as much. (Attachment 4)
Other emailed comment(s) (Attachment 5)
There was no one else wishing to speak and Mr. Goodman turned to the Board.
Mr. DePaolo addressed the comments regarding the flooding issue and asked Mr. Weber if the
filling of the underpass or overpass as it were; is that something that has a structural and
unavoidable existence? He said he understands there are other people involved, DOT and
Federal, but is there an engineering reason why it has to be filled in versus being allowed to exist
as a flood relief appurtenance?
Mr. Weber responded that he was not sure it was ever designed for a flood relief. It existed as
described as an access for the farmers at the time. He said he thought the discussions on filling
that in is more just a cost savings as opposed to building a bridge to span it.
Mr. DePaolo responded that his comment would then be that it seems to serve a pretty valuable
purpose, or that is the indication we have been given, so he would certainly like to see that re-
examined. He said he realizes this project is pretty far along, but if it wouldn't throw a years -
long delay into the mix, it would be worth doing.
Ms. Ritter added that she talked to Mike Smith and the underpass was acting as a relief valve for
that water prior to Home Depot being developed. Now Home Depot is there and the topography
has changed; it is no longer an area where a lot of water can be dispersed, because their parking
lot is raised, we believe so if anything could be done, such as adding culverts or something, she
thought there would need to be some analysis and surveying to determine whether things have
changed so much that it wouldn't even act as a relief valve anymore because Home depot has
changed the conditions on the other side.
TB 2019-11-18 Pg. 4
Mr. DePaolo said then as far as we know that analysis wasn't done?
Ms. Ritter said it wasn't done because again, as Mr. Weber said, its purpose was not to act as a
drainage way.
Ms. Hunter said with regard to Home Depot, would the development at Home Depot exacerbate
or alleviate the problem of flooding and then have flooding incidents been reported subsequent to
the development of the Home Depot site?
Ms. Ritter responded that the people who came to speak referenced incidents that were prior to
Home Depot being there. We are just guessing right now, we believe the parking lot area might
be raised so it wouldn't be as big an area to disperse flooding that was there prior to Home Depot
going in.
Ms. Hunter asked if we are intending to look at this issue further, maybe the Public Works
Committee, or are we under some kind of a time crunch?
Ms. Ritter responded that the final design went to NYS DOT and they are reviewing it and if
something were changed we would have to work with them but, she before making any proposed
changes, you would want to study whether the water would still disperse very well on the other
side like it did back in the 70's and 90's. She asked Mr. Weber if he had any thoughts on it.
Mr. Weber said it was his understanding that the Army Corp of Engineers has been working with
DEC relative to the whole inlet system and a lot of the work that exists is a result of the flooding
in the 1996 era and before. The raised bed for the railroad is a part of that study because it does
impact and direct the flood plain so they are certainly looking at it. He added that the Home
Depot property came in and did some rework on their site and since these were not part of a
drainage system, he didn't know if there were any requirements on Home Depot to accommodate
drainage through those gaps.
Mr. Weber said there are a number of issues that may come up in trying to convert them to a
drainage facility where there may not be rights to drain onto the Home Depot side.
Mr. Goodman said maybe this could be discussed at tomorrow's Public Works Committee and
check in with our engineers and whether they have any thoughts on this.
Mr. DePaolo said he wanted to be clear that he isn't hearing anybody say convert them to
drainage facilities, but he does hear people saying leave the holes where they are because there is
a chance that they actually might mitigate flooding. So unless there is a compelling reason o fill
them in, he didn't understand why they just couldn't be left as is.
Mr. Goodman said the first thing would be to talk to the engineers we hired to do the design and
see if they thought about this at all or were aware of this at all in making the designs and Ms.
Ritter said she assumes they did and she would also assume a bridge would be much more
expensive than filling it in. She thinks it was a cost issue and flooding was not on the radar.
TB 2019-11-18 Pg. 5
Ms. Hunter responded that it is on the radar now and should warrant further discussion at some
level.
Mr. Goodman said we should check with the engineers and see if they were aware of the issue
when they were developing the recommendation and go from there.
Mr. DePaolo asked what the construction schedule was at this point.
Ms. Ritter responded that we were hoping to have DOT approval by now and start construction
in the spring. It has not gone to bid yet, but we had been hoping to have already started with
some of the tree cutting that would have to happen before March. This is not an in-house project,
we are just sponsoring the grant and overseeing it.
5) Discuss Short Term Rental draft legislation
Mr. Goodman said he would like to get any thoughts tonight, especially from board members
who are not on the STR Committee. He added that given the number of items and questions Ms.
Brock identified, he will schedule at least one more committee meeting, but he would like to hear
any issues or thoughts members have.
Mr. DePaolo began at "Definitions" and he thought the definition of hosted and unhosted short
term rental uses which still reads "... require presence ... throughout..." and there was a
question in the past as to whether or not that "throughout" could be modified to allow for people
doing any number of errands that would take the host out of the residence.
Ms. Brock responded that Mr. Levine had proposed using "live and sleep" to replace "require
presence" which is used in the Census language and accomplishes the purpose.
Mr. DePaolo turned to pg 3 iii which deals with proof of preexisting rental agreements and he
thought we had discussed having an effective date that was far enough out to accommodate this
like we did with the ADU law and save the administrative effort of receiving and recording
existing agreements.
Pg 5 second paragraph which deals with the number of days and whether or not someone gets
automatic 90 days for satisfying one of the criteria. He said he had stated a suggestion of starting
with a lesser number that will then escalate if there were no violations associated with a property
then someone could move up to a greater number of days based upon renewal.
He said his concern was that you could literally have two adjacent parcels that both comply with
the setback requirements and one is on a 1 acre parcel and the other is on a 3 acre parcel and one
person, just by virtue of being on a larger parcel, gets 90 days and the other person gets 29 which
he thinks is something that needs to be discussed. He said he had suggested 60 days so we don't
get repeated problems where we have already committed to allowing 90 days.
TB 2019-11-18 Pg. 6
Pg 5 further down regarding notifications, he thought the notification(s) should happen before
the rental because it would be helpful for Codes to know there is going to be activity in a certain
area. It doesn't seem to be more burdensome on hosts prior versus post rental.
Some discussion followed and Mr. Mosely will look into the feasibility of actually instituting an
electronic notification system.
Mr. Goodman said he is looking ad Wednesday, December 41h sometime after 3p.m. for the next
STR Committee meeting. He asked for any comments, especially regarding the number of days,
prior to that meeting.
6) Continue discussion on Green New Deal
Mr. Goldsmith gave a powerpoint presentation on what the Town has done so far and future
plans. (Attachment 6)
Ms. Hunter asked about the funding for help figuring out how to help homeowners pay for these
improvements and Mr. Goldsmith responded that he has applied for grants and that is a
component of those grants. She commented that anything that can be done to help homeowners
finance these improvements we may be requiring would be good.
Some discussion followed on programs that have been rolled out in other municipalities where
financing is done through one's property taxes and others. Mr. Goldsmith said they would be
looking at everything out there.
Ms. Hunter said it is important that we work with and develop relationships at the State level
because we are going to need their help and this is an initiative they have also stated they are
pushing and we can't do it alone.
Ms. Hunter said traffic is a huge concern and contributor and we also need to work with TCAT
to get to that source reduction.
Mr. Goodman added that it was surprising to see the pie charts and just how much transportation
accounts for getting to our goal.
Mr. DePaolo asked if those transportation figures were the community as a whole and Mr.
Goldsmith responded that he used the County's Transportation Study so it was transportation for
the county parsed down to the Town of Ithaca using some assumptions.
Mr. Goldsmith said TCAT had just reached out to him and he will pursue that relationship.
7) Discuss and consider creation of GIS Analyst position
There was no discussion on this item as it has been discussed at the committee level for a while.
TB 2019-11-18 Pg. 7
TB Resolution 2019 — 169: Creation of Position of Geographic Information Systems
Analyst (GIS) under Civil Service.
Whereas, the Town of Ithaca established compliance under the New York State Civil Service
Agency to qualify employment positions in the Town of Ithaca in accordance with Section 22 of
Civil Service Laws, Rules and Regulations; and
Whereas, by regulation of Civil Service Law the Town must create a position and approve the
job description before making an appointment; and
Whereas, the Town has determined the need to create a Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
Analyst position; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca does hereby establish the following position in
accordance with the applicable New York State and Tompkins County Civil Service rules:
1. The following position is established and is a position in the competitive class pursuant to
Section 44 of the Civil Service Law:
1-(One) — Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Analyst
And be it further
Resolved, the Town Board does hereby approve the job descriptions for the said position as
created and monitored by Tompkins County Civil Service.
Moved: Tee -Ann Hunter Seconded: Pamela Bleiwas
Vote: ayes — Hunter, Bleiwas, Leary, Levine, Howe, DePaolo and Goodman
8) Consider Consent Agenda Items
TB Resolution 2019 -170: Adopt Consent Agenda
Resolved, that the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca hereby approves and/or adopts the
following Consent Agenda items:
a. Approval of Town Board Minutes
b. Town of Ithaca Abstract
c. Approval of Bolton Point Abstract
d. Acknowledge Town of Ithaca Independent Audit for 2018
e. Approval of Floating Holiday
f. Set records management day for December 13, 2019 from Sam to 1pm
g. Recommendation to the County Legislature to reappoint Kelly Sauve as our Youth
Services Board representative
h. Approval of Revised Office System Job Classification Listing -2020 (Attachment 7)
TB 2019-11-18 Pg. 8
i. Approval of job descriptions —Engineering
j. Approval of Greater Tompkins County Municipal Health Insurance Consortium
Employee Wages for 2020
Moved: Rich DePaolo Seconded: Tee -Ann Hunter
Vote: ayes — DePaolo, Hunter, Howe, Goodman, Leary, Levine and Bleiwas
TB Resolution 2019- 170a: Approval of Minutes
Resolved, that the Town Board hereby approves the submitted minutes, as the final minutes of
the meetings on September 23, October 3, October 21, November 6, 2019 of the Town Board of
the Town of Ithaca.
TB Resolution 2019 - 170b: Town of Ithaca Abstract 22 for FY-2019
Whereas the following numbered vouchers have been presented to the Ithaca Town Board for
approval of payment; and
Whereas the said vouchers have been audited for payment by the said Town Board; now
therefore be it
Resolved that the governing Town Board hereby authorizes the payment of the said vouchers in
total for the amounts indicated.
VOUCHER NOS. 1469 - 1530
General Fund Town Wide
56,991.03
General Fund Part -Town
18,967.43
Highway Fund Town Wide DA
221.36
Highway Fund Part Town DB
42,288.19
Water Fund
9,412.41
Sewer Fund
2,632.04
State Route 96b Sidewalk — H7
10,497.90
Fire Protection Fund
266,000.00
Forest Home Lighting District
2,623.15
Glenside Lighting District
13.28
Renwick Heights Lighting District
22.23
Eastwood Commons Lighting District
31.14
Clover Lane Lighting District
4.17
Winner's Circle Lighting District
6.19
Burlei h Drive Lighting District
14.48
West Haven Road Lighting District
57.54
Coddin ton Road Lighting District
33.43
Debt Service
282,042.50
TOTAL
691,858.47
TB 2019-11-18 Pg. 9
TB Resolution 2019 - 170c: Bolton Point Abstract
Whereas, the following numbered vouchers for the Southern Cayuga Lake Intermunicipal Water
Commission have been presented to the governing Town Board for approval of payment; and
Whereas, the said vouchers have been audited for payment by the said Town Board; now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, that the governing Town Board hereby authorizes the payment of the said vouchers.
Voucher Numbers: 492-533
Check Numbers: 18653-18694
Capital Impr/Repl Project
Operating Fund
TOTAL
Less Prepaid
TOTAL
$ 10,738.59
$ 51,295.34
$ 62,033.93
$ 38,085.28
TB resolution 2019 - 170d: Acknowledge receipt of independent audit for Town of Ithaca
2018
Resolved that the Town Board acknowledges it has received the independent audit for year
ending 2018 by Sciarraba and Walker with no issues found.
TB Resolution 2019- 170e: Approval of Floating Holidays for 2020.
Whereas, there is an annual poll conducted of all town and SCLIWC employees to determine
their preference for the next year's floating holiday for each location; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca does hereby approve the Floating Holiday for
2020 for Town Hall staff as Thursday, December 24, 2020 (moving half day holiday to
December 23, 2020) as requested by a majority of the employees of Town Hall; and be it further
Resolved, the Town Board does hereby approve the Floating Holiday for 2020 for Public Works
staff as Monday, July 6, 2020 as requested by a majority of the employees of Public Works; and
be it further
Resolved, the Town Board does hereby approve the Floating Holiday for 2020 for SCLIWC
staff as Friday, May 22, 2020 as requested by a majority of the employees of SCLIWC.
TB Resolution 2019 - 170f. Setting Records Management Day for December 13, 2019
TB 2019-11-18 Pg. 10
Resolved that the Town Board approves of setting December 13, 2019 from Sam — noon as it's
annual Records Management Day where the office will be closed.
TB Resolution 2019 - 170g: Recommendation to the County Legislature for reappointment
of the Town of Ithaca's Youth Services Board representative
Resolved that the Town Board recommends that Tompkins County reappointment Kelly Sauve
as its Youth Representative on the Youth Services Board
TB Resolution 2019 - 170h: Approval of Revised Office System Job Classification Listing
for 2020
Whereas, the Town Board adopted the current Office System Job Classification Listing in
October 2012; and
Whereas, the Human Resources Manager, utilizing the Job Classification Position Assessment
program, has evaluated new positions, modified positions and vacant positions for adjustments to
the Office System Job Classification Listing; and
Whereas, the Personnel & Organization Committee has reviewed the recommendations by
Human Resources and recommends the revised Office System Job Classification Listing, which
includes changes due to the re-establishment of the Engineering Department and the creation or
changes in positions for effective 2020; therefore, be it
Resolved, the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca hereby approves the revised Office System Job
Classification System as submitted effective January 1, 2020.
TB Resolution 2019 -170i: Approval of Revised Engineering related Job Descriptions
Whereas, the Town Board re-establishment of the Engineering Department, effective January 1,
2020; and
Whereas, the Personnel and Organization Committee reviewed the revisions made to the
engineering related job descriptions and recommend approving the revised job descriptions; now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, the Town Board of the Town of Ithaca does hereby approve the revised job description
for Senior Civil Engineer, Civil Engineer, Senior Engineering Technician and Engineering
Technician I.
TB Resolution 2019 - 170j: Approval of Greater Tompkins Co Municipal Health Insurance
Consortium Employee Wages for 2020
Whereas, the Town of Ithaca was established as the "Employer of Record" for the Greater
Tompkins County Municipal Health Insurance Consortium (Consortium); and
TB 2019-11-18 Pg. 11
Whereas, the Consortium approved of the 2020 employee wages while approving the 2020
Budget at their September 26, 2019 meeting;
Whereas, the governing Town Board of the Town of Ithaca has reviewed the proposed wages for
Consortium employees for the year 2020; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, the governing Town Board of the Town of Ithaca does hereby approve the
Consortium's 2020 wages as detailed below.
Title
2019 wages
2020 wages
Increase
Executive Director
$90,000
$91,800
2.0%
Clerk of the Board
$34.00/Hr.
$34.00/Hr.
0.0% due to July 2019
adjustment
Administrative / Computer
Assistant
$25.50/Hr.
$26.01/Hr.
2.0%
9) Report of Town Officials
Fire Contract — Mr. Goodman reported that the contract with IFD expires the end of the year
and they are asking that we remove the requirement of hiring five volunteers for every hired
regular firefighter. They would like to keep the four of the five positions that had been funded
through a grant for the past few years. This removal of the requirement would only apply to this
requested hiring.
Discussion followed on the state of volunteer efforts here and country wide and bunker programs
that are working in the Village of Cayuga Heights.
Mr. Goodman added that TCOOG is working on this issue because many towns are grappling
with the loss of volunteer roster numbers for their companies.
The Board was in favor of allowing this concession.
Mr. Goodman reported that they are thinking that the sale of the collegetown station will pay for
the replacement station. They are still deciding on an East Hill location. Along the same lines,
the leases for the land under the stations on East and West Hill have expired and will need to be
renewed. It is $1 so a technicality but needs to be renewed.
PWF Expansion/Renovation Project — Mr. Goodman reported that the revised estimate is
approximately $900K with the new plans changing the HVAC equipment and removing the heat
pumps. Both the heat pumps and the break room expansion will be listed as alternate bid lines.
This allows us to put either alternate lines back in depending on the amount of the bids.
TB 2019-11-18 Pg. 12
Mr. Goodman added that we will have to make a decision at that point regarding green building
efforts.
Mr. Weber responded that we meet the criteria set in our Green Building Policy without the beat
pumps.
Other
Mr. Solvig reported on the sales tax revenue and interest dividends year to date.
Ms. Drake gave an update on Health Consortium saying they are reviewing the agreement and a
draft was sent out for comments from stakeholders.
10) Report of Town Committees/Intermunicipal Organizations — None
11) Review of Correspondence — None
At 7:28 p.m. Mr. Goodman moved to enter executive session to discuss the employment history
of a particular person followed by closed session to seek the advice of counsel.
12) Consider Adjournment
Meeting was adjourned upon a motion and a second at 7:47 p.m.
Submilit'
VZ
Paulette Rosa, Town Clerk
TB 2019-11-18 Pg. 13
TB N alilak"s I 1.. 18 1q
Carolyn Beeman
11 Buttermilk Falls W
Ithaca, NY 14850
The Board
Town of Ithaca
215 N Tioga St
Ithaca, 14850
RE: Plans for the Gateway Trail - Concerns
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Board;
We recently learned that the long awaited Gateway Trail is entering a new phase. I was alerted
to this fact by my neighbor. I did not receive a letter concerning these plans despite being
immediately adjacent to the proposed construction, construction that extinguishes a Right of
Way (ROW) granted to our property which occurred on the building of the D L and W Railroad
berm that at the time crossed the property. The north property line is now defined by the berm.
We have been concerned about privacy because the proposed trail lies about 15 feet superior
to my back yard. We spoke to Bill Goodman, the Town Supervisor about those concerns and
shortly after received copies of the plans for fencing and privacy screening. While we think
those are less than adequate, my letter is about something I discovered when I was able to
download those plans and take a look at the fine print.
Now that we have reviewed those plans in detail, we find that an element of the proposal which
physically threatens our property and which constitutes an illegal taking by the town of the
Right of Way (ROW) that passes through the RR berm.
This ROW built in 1906 was granted at the time to permit the property owner access to the
fields the RR ROW crossed when it was built.
We have discovered thru the School of Hard Knocks, that this is not the only function of the
ROW. It ALSO serves as an emergency flood valve, protecting the properties that are in the
flood plain of the Inlet by preventing flood waters from backing up and submerging the
properties in front of the berm.
We live at the junction of Buttermilk Falls Creek and the Inlet. Joining the Cayuga Inlet slightly
up hill (south) from this point are:
• Lick Brook,
• West Brook,
• Fish Kill and
• Enfield Creeks.
When there are severe weather events in Danby, Newfield or Enfield, the water drains into
Cayuga Inlet by these waterways which joint Cayuga Inlet just above Buttermilk Falls Creek.
Do these events occur with any frequency? Yes, indeed they do. I believe they have affected
every owner of the property since it was built, although there is no formal record of such
events.
We purchased 112 Buttermilk Falls Road in 2013. During our due diligence, it was not
apparent that the property was in a flood plain. The National Flood Maps contain no indication
that flooding affects the property. The mortgage holder required no Flood Insurance.
However, on the night of June 15, 2015, my husband who had been recovering from a severe
illness, and I were watching a video. The weather was cloudy and damp, but there was no
rain. We heard a pounding on our back door. It was the fireman that lives next door. "You are
surrounded by water!" he exclaimed.
Indeed, about 18 inches of water was rapidly flowing through the property, so fast that
stepping into it I was nearly knocked down.
We ventured into the basement and saw that the west wall of the basement looked like
Buttermilk Falls, because the hydrologic pressure of the flood waters was pushing thru the
solid stone foundation wall. The sump pump was overwhelmed. The water was 30 inches
deep and hovering 6 inches from the bottom of the electrical panel. We shut off the power to
prevent a fire from shorts.
The cause of the flood we found out the next day, was a severe thunderstorm over Danby and
Newfield where roads and driveways had washed out closing roads and causing a lot of
damage.
Our losses: 2 thriving bee hives, total loss of bees and equipment, 3 vehicles, (1 of them 2
months old), numerous pairs of expensive leather shoes and purses from mold which
developed in the ensuing months. Kitchen cabinets had to be cleaned with bleach numerous
times, mold on wood bookshelves and books thru the first floor is still a problem. The monetary
loss amounted to about $40,000 for the vehicles and $300 for the bees and equipment.
Fortunately some of these losses were insured. But the time invested in replacing these and
cleaning moldy surfaces repeatedly was not.
It is not within your power to stop the flood events that have affected our property for the 150
years the house has been on the property. The hydrology is set by the drainage that can go
nowhere but thru the creeks and into the Inlet. The construction of the berm obviously
exacerbated these by blocking the drainage to the fields that have now been turned into
asphalt parking lots and big box stores.
However, it is within your power to leave the ROW underpass alone, or to shore it up if it has
structural issues that are not apparent on a visual inspection. Blocking this underpass will
have much larger damaging effects on our property in the next floods and potentially cause
flooding of the neighboring property owned by John and Cathy Powers since the next lowest
spot where the water will seek outlet is Route 13 under the Bridge to Nowhere. I am not a
hydrologist or environmental engineer, but it is possible that closing the underpass may cause
the blocked flood waters to flow down Route 13 at the bridge over the creek flowing from
Treman State Park. It is also likely that overtime it will erode the railroad berm as the water
seeks outlet to the Inlet threatening the Gateway Trail necessitating expensive shoring up to
maintain the bed.
It has also come to our attention that the fill material to be used to close the ROW will be
scraped from the top of the berm, reducing its height. As we understand it the bed of the berm
was cinder, a typical fill material in the early part of the century. Cinder, of course, is a waste
material of the coal that was burned in the RR engines of the time. Cinder is frequently a toxic
material with such heavy metal contaminants as lead, arsenic, mercury to name just a few. The
bed as it exists now has had year over a 100 years to settle, the surface is likely no longer
toxic. However, scrapping the top layer off will likely expose toxic levels. We believe it is the
Towns responsibility to test the materials exposed at the surface of the berm and the proposed
fill if it is used in any way in the construction and dispose of them in such a way that they do
not threaten the surface soils on the resident's properties or the ground water of the wells from
which the residents obtain their driving water.
In Summary
We are asking that the filling in of the ROW that passes through the berm be struck from the
Gateway Trail Plan as it constitutes an illegal taking of a Right of Way granted to the Property
at 112 Buttermilk Falls Road W at the time of the building of the D L and W Railroad line and
insure that the underpass continues for function as it has since it was first build in at the turn of
the century.
Sincerely yours,
Carolyn Beeman
Donald Jones
cc: John D Powers
l��U,III71°I'll CILA; 21
To: Town Board, Town of Ithaca � F i 1,ii 1 V cS I 18 1112 0 1 Q
215 N. Tioga St.
Ithaca, New York, 14850
From: John D. Powers
106 West Buttermilk Falls Rd.
Ithaca, New York 14850
18 November 2019
The neighborhood of Buttermilk Falls is small. Basically it is five families, but are separated by the
four lanes of Rt 13; the Elmira Rd. Life is different here than in other neighborhoods like those found
on South Hill or in Eastern Heights sections of the Town of Ithaca (TO[). For the residents of the West
Buttermilk Falls Rd. we have a big -box store; the Home Depot. We endure truck noise and sometimes
a late -evening street -sweeper cleaning the parking -lots, and the annoying lights of the Home Depot that
are on during all hours of darkness. Directly south of this is a woods and brush area belonging to the
Buttermilk Falls State Park; the New York State Department of Parks and Recreation (NYSDPR).
Directly to the east of my property is Rt 13, a four -lane highway that is the main thoroughfare for the
greater Ithaca area; all parts north and south. Though the speed limit is listed as 30 mph it is only the
more aware and prudent driver who obeys this posted limit that continues from the COI to a location
just south of the Sand Bank Rd. where the speed -limit transitions from 30 to 45 mph.; this intersection
just south of the Buttermilk Falls Rd. intersection. Most drivers and notably most trucks use this area
to either accelerate when traveling south or to slow down when entering the COI. In reality the
corresponding speed limits are more like 40 plus for the COI and 50 plus for north bound traffic. The
noise associated with these higher speeds is extremely disruptive and when a truck's Jake -brake is
added there can be no real piece. Then we have to add the road dust and salt into the environment, a
portion of which seems to cover my property. Though there some very nice aspects associated with
living here, I can say that living here is hard work, rarely quiet, and not clean.
With the exception of leaving for education and related experiences I have been a legal resident of this
property for my entire life of over 67 years and my family has owned the property since the 1930's.
The current railroad berm that also has the boundary for the COI and TOI running through the center
has transitioned from initially (I believe) the Lehigh Valley Railroad (LVRR) to the last rail operator
Norfolk & Southern and when they abandoned their ROW the NYS Department of Parks and
Recreation became the property owners.
The berm was initially part of the New York State Parks and Recreation Black Diamond Trail, and
many years ago the Parks Department conducted public presentations with public comment from the
general public and people of standing; those owning property adjacent to the proposed trail. Many
parts of the trail have been completed, but the responsibility for the local part of interest; that part in the
southern part of Ithaca along incorporating the railroad berm has become the responsibility of the COI
and TOI with the TOI taking the later lead. The nationally famous landmark, the "Bridge to Nowhere";
built in 2001 was, I believe, a joint project between the COI and TOI. With great fanfare the pre-
fabricated bridge was erected with the designation of the "Gateway to Ithaca", the bridge decking
placed, then chain -link fences placed at either end of the bridge to eliminate the opportunity for people
to use the bridge, then the bridge would be forgotten and allowed to go into disrepair. A $15000 bridge
inspection was conducted a few years ago and three years ago the 6" x 4" solid oak bridge decking
started to rot and fall onto the sidewalk and roadway below. I took pictures of the rotten wood littering
the sidewalk and outlined concerns for public safety and submitted them to the COI and TOI, but no
action was taken. After a while my wife and I cleaned -up the mess and continued to remove bits'n
pieces as they continued to fall. Eventually a COI DPW crew removed the remaining bride decking.
Incidentally, my wife and I took responsibility for maintaining the area adjacent to the sidewalk under
the bridge; the western side of the "Gateway to Ithaca". We mow, rake, and remove garbage fromm this
area and in general along the highway. The only recognition we received for this was from a high-up
offical of the NYS Department of Labor who was visiting the local office when it occupied a space in a
commercial building just inside the COI limits on the west side. He came over and complimented my
wife for her efforts while she was collecting trash from under the bridge. It is sad that the "Gateway to
Ithaca" is neglected by both the COI and TOI.
A few years ago a contractor proceeded to remove trees from the top of the railroad berm on both sides
of Rt 13. This prompted a visit to the TOI and subsequent meetings with the Planning Department
(PD) of the TOI. It is during these meetings I learned of the plans for the Gateway Trail; the scope of
the project. I received plans for the trail project and then met with the Planning Department to discuss
them. Years earlier, the day the "Bridge to Nowhere" was placed, I had a impromptu conversation with
the then Mayor of the COI and a department head within the TOI. I brought up my concerns about
privacy and security for my property. Both agreed that a chain -link fence boarding the trail on top of
the berm would provide the best privacy and security for the residents. Problem solved. When this
conversation was brought -up with the TOI PD concerning the current plans I was told the this would
not be happening. On further evaluation of the plans there was no real consideration given to neighbor
hood security and as far as privacy was concerned there were I I plantings called -out. Of the ten listed
to act to provide "privacy" only five would grow to a height greater than three feet, and these five were
probably spread out over a distance of approximately 150 feet.
When questioned about these plantings 1 was sent a picture of a grove of trees, the same as the variety
planned; the picture taken in the Eastern Heights area. It was an insult to receive these pictures as
representative of plantings that would be provided here. I showed the plans to a licensed landscape
architect and asked him to comment about the proposed plantings providing privacy for my household,
and he was at best amused and generally appalled concerning the lack of sensitivity on the part of the
planning department. When the issue of security was brought -up I was told that the TOI has had no
problems with previous trail developments. I would think that he was referring to the trails associated
with the watershed area and the eastern heights development. He obviously knew nothing about issues
we deal with in our neighborhood. As the conversations continued I became very emotional over the
TOI's lack of concern for our neighborhood, and the representative from the PD said, and this is a
direct quote, "we are the Town of Ithaca, and we will do whatever we want to do and we don't have to
tell you anything". That is the last time I had anything to do with the TOI PD.
A few years has passed and nothing was done with the trail. I went to see Supervisor Goodman about
another topic regarding an issue with the development just inside the COI. I asked Supervisor
Goodman about the trail, and he indicated that the plans were currently under review by the Finger
Lakes Region of the NYSDPR, and that a copy would be available after the review and approval was
received from the FR/NYSDPR. I finally received a digital copy from Susan Ritter, Director of
Planning, TOI on 29 Oct. I made these plans available to Carol Beeman and Don Jones, owners of 112
West Buttermilk Falls Rd. it was the first time they had heard of the trail development continuing past
their property.
I guess the first thing I would like to address is the lack of communication by the TOI PD. The PD was
well aware of my concerns regarding this trail development years ago, and yet no attempt was made to
approach the residents of the neighborhood of West Buttermilk Falls to make us aware of the new
plans; plans that far exceed the scope of the previous plans. No attempt was made to ascertain our
concerns regarding our privacy and security. My first thought was that they were living -up to their
motto told to me earlier that "we are the Town of Ithaca, and we will do whatever we want to do and
we don't have to tell you anything". I went to the PD's website and read the "What we do". It was cold
and hard, it mentioned "residents" once, did not use the word "people" and I was surprised that I could
not find a "mission" statement. I work for the COI Fire/Rescue, and we have a very clearly defined
mission statement and we make it very clear that we "serve the people". I had no such feeling from
what I saw form the PD's webpage. Maybe their quote to me should appear there. There is a legal
term; one that most are probably well aware of and that term is "due regard" .... what a reasonable
person would do in a similar situation. It is something that guides me in what I do for a living. The
keyword is "reasonable", and in this case the question is, what would have been reasonable for the PD
to do in a situation where their plans would have a very significant effect on residents privacy, personal
and property security, and from what I am finding out now, the actual value of our property.
There is also the issue of history of this project with the residents ..... where the project is a known
emotional issue. To me and to anyone I have talked to including people involved in other
municipalities it would have been reasonable for the TOI PD to approach the residents start an
exchange of information .... concerns and ideas. It may be that I have to accept some responsibility for
the untimely, late involvement in these processes as the plans were probably presented in regular board
meetings. Well, shame on me, and I will not make the same mistake of expecting that the PD will act
with "due regard" in the future. Okay, well what about the future? Would it be reasonable that based
on what is happening now, the elected board members resolve to require that the PD notify residents
with standing; that is those people that will be directly affected by projects not related to critical
infrastructure like water and sewer projects. Would it be reasonable to expect that the TOI act to a
higher level of standards with regards to being sensitive to the needs of the residents, the taxpayers of
the TOI? This trail is not a critical infrastructure project affecting the welfare of the entire TOI
community.
Safety / Security
I feel that the TOI PD is unaware of security issues we have here. Their knowledge of developing trails
is in nice neighborhood areas. For example, Carol and Don of 112 West Buttermilk Falls Rd have to
erect a barricade at their driveway entrance to prevent people from entering their property to turn
around, and I have had people drive a large loop over my lawn to turn around. Where the current berm
is concerned we constantly have people on the berm who see the West Buttermilk Falls Rd. from the
top of the berm and cut across our property(s) to reach the road. More on this later. The proposed
Gateway trail will end just west near the rear corner of Nome Depot. It will be a "trail to nowhere" and
even if there is a sign indicating "dead end" on the trail, there will be people who will take the shortest
distance available and use our property as a short-cut. The area to the west of 112 West Buttermilk
Falls Rd (owned by the NYSDPR) and south of the berm is a wooded area with plenty of places to
hide. I don't know how many of you are familiar with the "jungle" area within the COI. There have
been several locations for this designation, but new areas have grown behind Walmart and behind
Burger King. I will not try and describe the population that frequents these "camps" but there has been
a history of deaths, medical problems including frequent ODs and other problems including fires. You
can't walk around these camps without taking notice of the discarded hypodermic syringes and needles
lying about. Easy access to and privacy seem to encourage the development of these types of camps
and we fear that the "trail to nowhere" will encourage the gowth of these camps in our nearby areas.
The trail will not be lit at night, and we also fear that there will be those who will take advantage of the
ability to slip unseen into the rear yards of the bordering properties for the purpose of "no good". The
Gateway Trail specifies a wooden three -rail fence Oft 6 inch high along the residential areas but this
fence is more for "looks" than preventing people from crossing onto private property, and looks like it
would be easy to climb over. I was told that I could install a my own chain -link fence at the bottom of
the berm. Why should I have to protect myself from a problem that you are creating?
Privacy
The berm is elevated. The exact height varies little in the residential area and my estimate that it is
between ten and twelve feet in elevation. Our back -yards; our property, our lives will be reduced to a
public fish -bowl. I have included a picture ot'someone standing on the berm to show how easy it will
be in invade our privacy- flow wOLdd YOU like this situation in Your back yard. Why would you plan,
wily would YOU allow SOMethill- to happen to someone else that YOU Nvould not Nvant happen to you?
Isn't that an example of "two sets of Riles". The people in -charge ofthis project go home at night
this is our home ... we are already at home.
As mentioned earlier there are eleven plants listed in the planting schedule. 011C Plantus occidentalis;
the American sycamore that could grow tip to 6 feet per year. There are Five RhUS aromatica or
fragrant SUrnac planned, this is a low -growing shrub, used more for ground -raver that can grow to be
five -feet high but will be about 3 feet hioh for the, most part, Five Junipents virginiaria or red cedar is a
moderate -growth rate tree and can grow at 24 inches per year but mostly 8-12 inches per year. They
are not known as a large diameter tree and keeping them regularly watered is critical for the survival of
new trees. So, of the ten plants scheduled to be planted on the trail adjacent to the 1 O6 West Buttermilk
Falls Rd. property only five will reach any height and if these five Juniper are alternated with the other
5 sumac as scheduled, the Juniper will, be planted at a distance ol-'40 feet apart. A licensed landscape
architect was CO11SUIted and asked if these plantings would provide even a minimally adequate privacy
L7
barrier and they indicated that it would not. There are NO plantings scheduled for the trail along the
boarder with 112 West Buttermilk Falls Rd.
For the neighborhood issues of security and privacy, any solutions proposed would be met by the PD
with an answer of ... no funding available. This probably would not be the case if the PD had not
ignored the neighborhood of West Buttermilk Falls and had acted with due regard and involved the
neighborhood in the planning of this trail.
Flooding
There is at "superstructure- as desi-noted in drawitio PL.-2, an underpass associated with 112 West
1� I"
BUtterruilk Falls, Rd. Above file entrance to the "tUrInCl" there Used to be a inlay in the concrete with the
Mate " 1906" which I imagine is the date ot'construction. The most important current function of this
tunnel is as a flood relief' channel allowing water held -back by the current (proposed elevated trail
berm to escape to the other side of'the berm. The need Im this tunnel to act as flood relief has been
demonstrated many times over the last few decades and the current owners and past owners of. 112
West Buttermilk Falls Rd. will attest to this fact. I have include(] pictures of the flooding as It normally
occurs, but when you loop a this picture please understand that this picture was taken during daylight
hours, and the "crest" of the flooding occurred during darkness preventing Suitable photos to be taken
and besides, the location that was used to take the illustrated photo was inUndated with swift-riloving
water and was not it place you could stand. If you look at the picture to the h rigt of opening you call
L� t7
see where the snow -fine stops because of the water level. here IS cl Picture of at person standing in the
tunnel, and lie is indicating the relative height of file water at crest. The approximate flow cross-section
is (,.;reamer than 45 sq, ft. through file tunnel
I C-
Other jActures show ....
>171(ioding across Rt 13 looking South at the construction of' (lie new bridge at the intersection with Rt
13A. The NYS DOT had said that they were elevating Rt 13 dUrill" the new Construction to an
�17 11
elevation higher than any expected flooding level. They obviously miscalculated.
Z� Z7�
>13titternulk Creek looking west flora the Rt 13 bridge,
>The end of West Buttermilk Falls Rd.; the abandoned part, looking, east to Rt 13, There is a
NYSE&G truck parked in front of' 112 West Buttermilk Falls ]Rd,, and water is still flowing across the
road into 112 West Buttermilk Falls Rd.. A-ain, durinc, peak 1100(fill(I I Could not have oottell to the
10Cati0l) tile Picture was taken from and also would not have been able to stand there,
To remove the "superstructure", that is to remove the tunnel will tremendously increase the amount of
damage to 112 West Buttermilk Falls Rd. if not destroy the property, and cause flooding to continue
eastward to Rt 13.
This flooding has been perviously discussed with the TOI in years past and the flooding specific to 112
West Buttermilk Falls Rd. was discussed with the PD during conversations, rather emotional ones,
concerning the first iteration of the Gateway Trail. Pictures of the flooding of this area can also be
found in historical issues of the "Ithaca Journal". According to Planning Department head Ritter a
SEQR was conducted several years ago by engineering consultants retained by the TOI and the SEQR
was subsequently approved by the DOT. I have requested a copy of the SEQR, and we will check to
see if it does take into account the flooding situation and address the impact of removing the
"superstructure"; the tunnel associated with the 112 West Buttermilk Falls Rd. property, and does
comply with NYS regulations that require a SEQR as prescribed in 6 NYCRR Part 617 as determined
by authority of NYS Environmental Conservation Law Sections 3-0301(1)(b), 3-0301(2)(m) and 8-
0113. Knowledge of the flooding of this area has been in the public domain for decades.
Possible flooding mitigation solution
I have included a topographic map that roughly shows the area west of 112 West Buttermilk Falls Rd.;
property owned by the NYSDPR. I have highlighted an area of the railroad ROW where, I believe,
was washed-out in a flood occurring around 1926. Both sides of the berm were subsequently
reinforced with rip -rap; very large stones. I believe that the concrete abutments from the old black -iron
bridge acts to restrict the flow of flood waters causing the water to back-up; exacerbating the flood
conditions to the south of the abutments, and the rip -rap berm reinforcements acting as a dam causing
higher flood levels in the West Buttermilk Falls Rd. neighborhood. If this rip -rap was removed I
believe that this would eliminate the dam effect, and possibly reduce the back-up of flood waters
maybe to a point where the neighborhood would be spared from future flooding damage. An added
advantage of removing the rip -rap would be to use this material to reinforce; to stabilize the bank of the
Inlet where the floodwaters continue to erode the property now owned by the NYSDPR. No doubt the
volume of soil lost during this erosion has significantly contributed to the demise of the flood control
channel and the inlet to the lake in general, depositing thousands of tons of unnecessary material in
these waters further compromising their ability handle water flow, and contributing to the cost of the
eventual dredging of these channels. In this case, prevention costs less than the eventual remediation.
Hazardous material
The abandoned railroad ROW is covered to an unknown depth with cinders also referred to as boiler -
slag. The EPA does not list cinders as a hazardous material, but the age of this material is over one -
hundred years old, and the kind of coal burned and the conditions the coal was burned; the function of
the boilers probably belonging to steam -traction engines is unknown. Cinders are known to contain
arsenic and mercury. In drawing PL-2 there is a reference to the removal of the abutments; removal of
the tunnel under the ROW, and that "item 203.03 is to be used to fill this area to grade. In drawing
TYP-1 there is a reference to the material specified as item 203.03. This material, as removed to allow
other material to be used as the foundation and top of the trail is mostly cinders, and will be used to fill-
in the area left open by the removal of the tunnel associated with 112 West Buttermilk Falls Rd.. Left
in -place the cinders don't seem to present a problem, but once disturbed it is unknown what effects this
will have on the neighborhood; the environment and the well that supplies drinking water to the
residents of 112 West Buttermilk Falls Rd., and possible other wells in the area. Before this material is
disturbed I would like an analysis done on samples from a distributed area along the berm. I would like
the collection of surface and core samples; the core samples taken 6" below the proposed material
scheduled to be removed and the analysis to be conducted by a certified laboratory with experience in
working with this material, and would like the results to be disclosed to the public in the same form as
the results are delivered to the TOI. I am currently in the process of contacting Toxic Targeting of
Ithaca to possibly get them involved in this matter.
In closing
The neighborhood of Buttermilk Falls is a small neighborhood. We have not got a large voter
population, nor can we muster a large number of signatures that could influence TOI policy. It is
because of this I feel that the TOI PD feels safe in ignoring us. I keep remembering the quote from the
representative from the PD ... "we are the Town of Ithaca, and we will do whatever we want to do and
we don't have to tell you anything". "They"; the TOI PD is not the Town of Ithaca. "We"; the
residents, the property owners, the taxpayers, the voters, the people who live here ARE the Town of
Ithaca. The Planning Department of the Town of Ithaca is supposed to represent the interests of all
people, is supposed to work for the people, and should not be allowed to ignore, to reduce -to -nothing
anyone living here for a project not related to critical infrastructure, and I think that the PD needs to
"reinvent" itself, and issue a mission statement where the needs of the many and the needs of the one
are equal. Perhaps the first sentence of their mission statement should be "We serve the people of the
Town of Ithaca".
Thank you,
John D. Powers
102 & 106 West Buttermilk Falls Rd.
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Short Term Rentals
Points of concern from latest draft of local law adding STR revisions
Mia Slotnick/Kenneth Simpson
11/18/19
p. 2:7he owner -occupant who must reside in the principal residence for a minimum of 185 days
per year."
How will this be policed?
p. 2: "Operating permit required"
How long will they be valid for?
p. 2: "Before expiration or renewal of the OP, it shall be the responsibility of the owner to
schedule an inspection with the Town of Ithaca Code Enforcement Dept..."
In a previous meeting, we were told by the Head of Code Enforcement that it would be
impossible to inspect every unit due to lack of time and manpower. Will every unit actually be
inspected? How will this be done?
How will it be determined whether the OP will be renewed? There was previous discussion
about neighbor complaints having influence on whether or not a permit was granted renewal.
p. 4: "Over -occupancy. Verified over -occupancy shall constitute a violation of the OP."
How will this be verified?
p. 4: "The owner of any unit rented for an unhosted STR use shall provide enough DRIVEWAY
parking spaces..."
I am hoping this actually means DRIVEWAY parking spaces since in our neighborhood, we
have witnessed destructive, unsightly, and extremely unsafe parking practices that hosts have
resorted to to accommodate their guests' cars, such as parking within a hairpin turn, greatly
obstructing visibility for cars trying to negotiate the turn, parking in new "parking spaces" created
immediately contiguous with narrow twisting roads, as well as parking on top of garden beds
and in front yards.
Will off street parking be required for hosted STRs as well as unhosted?
How will this off street parking requirement be policed?
p. 2: "in a dwelling unit on an adjacent tax parcel that is owned by the same owner"
Will this create an opportunity for full time B&Bs to be operating under the guise of a hosted
STR?
Will this then encourage hosts to buy adjacent properties?
p. 6: "Mountain View -Take remedial action to resolve any and all complaints..."
Would this include damage to neighbors' properties? We have suffered damages to our
property caused by our short term renters in our neighbors' home, and both the home owner
and the renter are refusing to reimburse us.
T 111111,, a ii a ii dc� s 11... 181111,20 1 Q
From: Bill Goodman
To: Eric Levine; Pam Bleiwas; Pat Leary; Rich De Paolo; Rod Howe; TeeAnn Hunter
Cc: Paulette Rosa; Susan H. Brock; Susan Ritter; Marty Moseley
Subject: STR comment from C. Greenwald for tonight"s TB Meeting
Date: Monday, November 18, 2019 1:17:30 PM
Hi folks, a comment from Carolyn Greenwald on the new STIR draft we will discuss tonight:
"Just to point out the major changes, the new draft says all STIR can only be done in dwellings that
are principal residences and the owner must live there 185 days per year. The draft also says that
lakefront resident has "no limit on the number of days per year that a dwelling unit may be used for
unhosted short-term rental."
I think the second provision is intended to mean that a lake house can be un-hosted short term
rental 365 days a year (indeed that is what it says). However, the first provision would make that
impossible; the host would need to live in the house at least 185 days a year. Given the contradiction
(and the history) I don't think this was intended in the drafting.
I think the fix is that the exception for Agricultural, Conservation, lakefront Residential and Planned
Development zones, needs to apply both to the principal resident requirement and the un-hosted
requirement. Another fix is to revert back to the previous drafts when these zones were entirely
exempt from the regulations."
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.III �11111l i i u i.:0 cm s I 1.. 181111,20 1 Q
From: Mary Iandoli
To: Paulette Rosa
Subject: Unhosted STR draft proposal
Date: Monday, November 18, 2019 3:56:50 PM
To: Members of Ithaca Town Board
The draft proposal scheduled to be presented November 18, 2019 is a result of many meetings
hosted by the Board. The meetings, many of which I attended, began in March of this year.
STR meetings were held as a result of three STR properties that were problematic to some of
their neighbors. Neighbors shared their concerns of guests in these homes who created
unacceptable noise levels and sometimes parked vehicles on the street.
Eight months later, we are now at the draft proposal stage. The draft limits non hosted STR to
29 days. One can assume that limiting the number of days is not going to limit the noise and or
parking issues. The noise and parking issue has not been solved. Yes, the owner can be
contacted and then reach out to STR guests, demanding the noise be curbed. This is what a
responsible host should be expected to do. However, owners who do not oversee their STR
diligently, should be held accountable for the disruptions to a peaceful neighborhood.
As a 20 year town of Ithaca resident and taxpayer, and a stellar host of our family's un hosted
short term rental (I or my property manager reside across the street , but not adjacent to the
property when rented) I find this draft to be punitive, and not the solution to the issues brought
to the board.
I encourage the Board to reflect on its rational of 29 days, and I strongly suggest the days be
extended to 90 days and the noise problems be addressed more directly.
Sincerely
Mary Iandoli
Town of Ithaca
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OFFICE SYSTEM JOB CLASSIFICATION LISTING
Effective :
1/1/2020 TB Res#:
updated V2020•II ng l)svq & other changes
Class
Civil Service Title
BOLD = FLSA
exempt -salaried
positions
I
Highway Super./Dir Public Wks (40)
Director of Planning (40)
Director of Code Enforcement (40)
1)11rector of 11 n ilnee l 40
Town Clerk (40)
H
Human Resources Manager (40)
Finance Officer (40)
G
Senior Civil Engineer w/PE 40 rrnnrn only)
F
Network/Records Specialist (37.5)
Senior Planner (37.5)
Deputy Finance Officer (37.5)
Sr. Code Enforcement Officer (40)
Iwo", Alrslysl (40)
Senior Civil I rr llneer ^4cf
E
Planner (37.5)
s usLallnalrlfty "klalr l"1C,,;,r ("4o)
Electrical/Code Enfcmt Offcr (40)
Civil Engineer 40
D
Administrative Assistant IV (TH-37.5 P- 40)
Principal Account Clerk Typist (37.5)
Bookkeeper to the Supervisor (37.5)
Court Clerks salaried 37.5
C
I bepGlly iG°survlr Ckel'lk (3"7 5)
Administrative Assistant III TH-37.5 P- 40
B
Deputy Town Clerk (37.5)
CITY OF 11 11ACA
31.0 Wi��st (ireen Street ltliaca, New York 14850-5,49"1
OFFICIi OFTHE FIRE, ('111IF"T
Tclvplujnv� 60"1 2-72-1234 Fav 00- 2'2-2-91
To: Svante Myrick, Mayor
Ithaca Town Board
City of Ithaca Common Council
City of Ithaca Public Safety and Information Commission
From: Tom Parsons, Fire Chief
Date: October 2"", 2019
Re: Quarterly Fire Chiefs Report for 2019 (Third (quarter)
ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION
A I
1) Career Personnel Report
PERSONNEL STAFFTNG LEVELS
I Chief
0 Deptity Chief (unfunded vacancy)
6 Assistant Chiefs
8 Lieutenants
50 Fire Fighters
65 Uniform Personnel
I Administrative Coordinator
Total employees as of September 30"', 2019 — 66
a) Vacancies, Retirements, Hiring, and Promotions
• There is one vacant firefighter position. A recruit firefighter was terminated
in August after not completing the probationary period. '17he position will
remain unfilled in 2019.
• Firefighter Brian Pendell announced his retirement effective October 3 1
2019. His position will not be filled this year,
Page 2 of 6 - Fire Chief s Report for Third Quarter 2019 October 2°d, 2019
Lieutenant Thomas Basher Jr. was promoted to Assistant Fire Chief on
September 8d', 2019. The promotion is filling the vacancy created by
Assistant Chief Deis' retirement in August
Firefighter Trevor Peyus was promoted to Fire Lieutenant on September 8d',
2019. The promotion is filling the vacancy created by Assistant Chief
Basher's promotion
Firefighter Christopher Hamilton was promoted to a Temporary Fire
Lieutenant Position. His promotions are filling a position for Lt Greg Stilwell
who is off work on extended injury leave.
b) Firefighters on Injury Leave
• There are one firefighter and one fire lieutenant off work on injury leave.
One firefighter and one fire lieutenant are currently undergoing treatment, and
it is undetermined when they will return to work.
2) Budget Report and Labor Contract
a) We are well into 2019, and our expenditures and revenues in line with
expectations except our overtime expenditures are higher as the result of the
number of firefighters off on injury and extended leave. A summary of the 2019
budget is attached.
b) The Firefighter and Fire Officer Labor Contracts were settled in March of 2018.
The firefighters and fire officers received a 1.5% salary increase on 1/1/2019 and
recieved another salary increase of 1.5% increase on 7/1/2019. The firefighters
and fire officers will receive a 2.75% salary increase on 1/l/2020. The current
labor contracts expire on 12/31/2020.
4) Grants and Donations
a) In December of 2018, I submitted a grant application to FEMA for $187,000 in
funding to replace the 25-year-old exhaust extraction systems in all of the fire
stations. The department was notified in September that it was awarded a FEMA
grant for $169,730 to be used to replace the exhaust extraction systems in all of
the fire stations. There is a 10% local contribution of $16,973 required by the
terms of the grant. The funding will be included in the 2020 budget.
b) I also submitted a second grant application to FEMA for $543,000 in funding to
replace our 30-year-old Heavy Rescue Truck. We did not receive an award for
this grant.
Page 3 of 6 - Fire Chiefs Report for Third Quarter 2019
5) Apparatus
October 2"d, 2019
a) We have issued a purchase order for a new Aerial Platform Truck, that will be
replacing our 1998 Aerial Platform Truck. The truck will be delivered in the
Summer of 2020.
5) Fire Training Center
a) In 2018, we received a structural report on our Rope Tower and our Fire
Training (Burn) Building. The report indicates that repairs to the Fire Training
Burn Building are needed if we are to continue to use the building. The building
cannot be used for live -fire training until repairs are made or the building is
replaced.
b) We also received a report from the NYS Labor Department also indicating that
repairs and additional work on the building need to be completed before the
building can be used for live fire training. While we are considering the
possibility of building a new fire training building and a new rope tower, we
have performed repairs and modifications to the building to bring in into OSHA
compliance. An engineering analysis will be performed later this year to
determine if the building is safe to use for live fire training after the repairs have
been made.
LIFE SAFETY DIVISION
Fire Prevention Bureau
1) Code Enforcement Division: The following is a list of Activities through the Third Quarter
of 2019:
Complaints Received 266
Referred to the City Building Division 144
Referred to the Town of Ithaca 51
Investigated by the Fire Prevention Bureau 71
Inspections: 1179
City - Fire Safety & Property Maintenance 285
City - Permit Required City Fire Safety 407
Town Fire Safety & Property 143
City — Fire Sprinkler System 74
City - Alternative Fire Protection System 7
City - Fire Alarm System 95
City — Standpipe Hydrostatic Test 1
Page 4 of 6 - Fire Chiefs Report for Third Quarter 2019 October 2"d, 2019
City - Standpipe Flow Test 8
City — Fire Pump Flow Test 3
City — Elevator Inspection/Test 93
City — Water -based Fire Prot. Plan Review 35
City — Fire Alarm System Plan Review 23
City — Alternative Fire Suppr. Plan Review 5
Permits or Certificates: 706
Operating Permit — Assembly Occupancy 166
Operating Permit — Large Assembly Occupancy 39
Operating Permit — Hazardous Occupancy 10
Operating Permit — Lumber Yard
2
Operating Permit — Elevator
183
Operating Permit — Fireworks
1
Operating Permit — Install or Modify FPS
78
Operation Permit — Food Truck
14
Operation Permit — Parking Garage
1
Certificate of Compliance — Commercial Insp.
123
Certificate of Compliance — School
0
Certificate of Compliance - Fire Alarm
49
Certificate of Compliance - Fire Sprinkler
11
Certificate of Compliance - Fire Pump
1
Certificate of Compliance — Fire Standpipe
6
Occupancy Posting Certificate
15
Certificate of Compliance - Alternative Suppression 7
2) Fire Investigation Unit:
The Fire Investigation Team investigated nine fires through the third quarter of 2019.
There were six fires investigated in the City of Ithaca, and three fires were investigated in
the Town of Ithaca
3) Public Education and Special Events
Public Education Events: 12
Fire Drills Witnessed: 2
Child Safety Seat Inspections: 37
Page 5 of 6 - Fire Chief's Report for Third Quarter 2019
�3' :: ti [�►1;y ��i�� C�TI
1) Emergency Response:
October 2"d, 2019
Januarthrough September 2019 Responses - 3930 Incidents
City of Ithaca: 2839 Incidents (72.24%)
Fires:
48
Overpressure/Rupture
5
EMS/Rescue:
1135
Hazardous Conditions:
137
Service Calls:
189
Good Intent:
464
Alarms/No Fires:
847
Severe Weather:
12
Other:
2
Town of Ithaca: 1072 Incidents (27.28%)
Fires:
25
Overpressure/Rupture:
1
EMS/Rescue:
627
Hazardous Conditions:
35
Service Calls:
33
Good Intent:
154
Alarms/No Alarm:
195
Severe Weather:
2
Other:
0
Mutual Aid: 19 Incidents (0.48%)
Fires: 2
Overpressure/Rupture: 0
EMS/Rescue: 4
Hazardous Conditions: 2
Service Calls: 3
Good Intent: 7
Alarms/No Fires: 1
Severe Weather: 0
Simultaneous Incidents: 829 Incidents (21.09%)
Page 6 of 6 - Fire Chief s Report for Third Quarter 2019 October 2nd, 2019
Volunteer Recruitment and Retention
1) There is currently 1 Active Scene Support Volunteer Firefighter and 10 Active Volunteer
Fire Police. There is no active firefighter who is an interior firefighter qualified.
2) There are three volunteer firefighters who resigned from the department in the last six
months. Two have moved out of state, and one relocated to the Town of Dryden and
joined the Dryden Fire Department.
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Ithaca FD
Incident Type Period Comparisons
Alarm Date Between {O1/01/2019) and f09/30/2019)
Incident Type
100 Fire, Other
111 Building fire
113 Cooking fire, confined to container
114 Chimney or flue fire, confined to chimney or
115 Incinerator overload or malfunction, fire
116 Fuel burner/boiler malfunction, fire confined
118 Trash or rubbish fire, contained
120 Fire in mobile prop used as a fixed struc, Othe
121 Fire in mobile home used as fixed residence
123 Fire in portable building, fixed location
130 Mobile property (vehicle) fire, Other
131 Passenger vehicle fire
132 Road freight or transport vehicle fire
134 Water vehicle fire
137 Camper or recreational vehicle (RV) fire
140 Natural vegetation fire, Other
141 Forest, woods or wildland fire
142 Brush or brush -and -grass mixture fire
143 Grass fire
150 Outside rubbish fire, Other
151 Outside rubbish, trash or waste fire
154 Dumpster or other outside trash receptacle fire
160 Special outside fire, Other
162 Outside equipment fire
170 Cultivated vegetation, crop fire, Other
200 Overpressure rupture, explosion, overheat other
221 Overpressure rupture of air or gas pipe/pipelin
231 Chemical reaction rupture of process vessel
243 Fireworks explosion (no fire)
251 Excessive heat, scorch burns with no ignition
300 Rescue, EMS incident, other
300lGorge Rescue, EMS incident, Ground Evacuation
3002Gorge Rescue, EMS incident, Low Angle Rope
311 Medical assist, assist EMS crew
320 Emergency medical service, other
321 EMS call, excluding vehicle accident with injur
322 Motor vehicle accident with injuries
323 Motor vehicle/pedestrian accident (MV Fed)
324 Motor Vehicle Accident with no injuries
331 Lock -in (if lock out , use 511 )
3311Lock-in / Knox Box Access Required
3312Lock-in I Force Entry Required
341 Search for person on land
01/01/2019
01/01/2018
01/02/2017
01/01/2016
to
to
to
to
09/30/2019
09/30/2018
09/30/2017
09/30/2016
10
7
4
6
32
30
27
29
9
12
12
13
0
2
1
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
1
1
2
r 0
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
1
6
4
7
6
1
2
2
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
0
2
6
1
13
0
3
0
0
3
5
2
5
0
3
1
5
4
2
4
4
5
8
5
5
1
5
3
5
2
4
1
4
0
3
0
0
0
0
1
2
1
1
1
0
e 0
0
0
1
2
2
0
1
0
1
0
0
3
2
2
2
9
5
11
4
1
1
4
3
0
2
1
0
21
33
21
18
51
68
49
76
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1452
1541
1434
46
53
60
65
12
15
9
14
31
27
24
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0
0
1
6
6
3
3
0
3
2
0
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10/01/2019 10:40 Page 1
Ithaca FD
Incident Type Period Comparisons
Alarm Date Between 101/01/20I91 and 109/30/20191
Incident Type
342 Search for person in water
350 Extrication, rescue, Other
350lGorge ae000e w/o Rope Systems
35I Extrication of victim(s) from building/atcoctor
352 Extrication of victim(s) from vehicle
353 Removal of victim(s) from stalled elevator
354 Trench/below-grade rescue
355 Confined space rescue
356Ieorge Rescue, w/ High -angle mope Extrication
360 Water a ice -related rescue, other
361 Swimming/recreational water areas rescue
363 Swift water rescue
365 Watercraft rescue
371 Electrocution or potential electrocution
381 Rescue or EMS standby
400 Hazardous condition, Other
410 Combustible/flammable gas/liquid condition,
411 Gasoline or other flammable liquid spill
412 Gas leak (natural gas or LPG)
413 oil or other combustible liquid spill
420 Toxic condition, Other
421 Chemical hazard (no spill or leak)
422 Chemical spill or leak
424 Carbon monoxide incident
431 Radiation leak, radioactive material
440 Electrical wiring/equipment problem, Other
441 Heat from short circuit (wiring), defective/wor�
442 Overheated motor
443 Breakdown of light ballast
444 Power line down
445 arcing, shorted electrical equipment
451 Biological hazard, confirmed or suspected
460 Accident, potential accident, Other
46I Building or structure weakened or collapsed
463 Vehicle accident, general cleanup
471 Explosive, bomb removal (for bomb scare, use
480 Attempted burning, illegal action, Other
481 attempt to burn
500 Service Call, other
510 Person in distress, Other
5I1 Lock -out
512 Ring or jewelry removal
520 Water problem, Other
nz/nz/oozo
oz/oz/ouzn
01/01/2017
01/01/2016
to
to
to
to
09/30/2019
my/sn/uozo
oy/ap/uvzv
0e/30/2016
V
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20
28
43
I
2
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3
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6
10
45
67
44
71
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2
4
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2
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1
20
26
15
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6
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40
38
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I0/01/20I9 10:40 gage 2
Ithaca FD
Incident Type
Incident Type Period Comparisons
Alarm Date Between (01/01/20191 and (09/30/2019)
01/01/2019
to
09/30/2019
521 Water evacuation 1
522 Water or steam leak 12
531 Smoke or odor removal 5
540 Animal problem, Other 0
541 Animal problem 2
542 Animal rescue 8
550 Public service assistance, Other 7
551 Assist police or other governmental agency 18
552 Police matter 4
553 Public service
554 Assist invalid
555 Defective elevator, no occupants
561 Unauthorized burning
571 Cover assignment, standby, moveup
600 Good intent call, Other
611 Dispatched & cancelled en route
6111Dispatched & cancelled en route - By Dispatcher
6112Dispatched & cancelled en route - By Bangs
6113Dispatched & cancelled en route - By CUEMS
6114Dispatched & cancelled en route - By CU EH&S
6115Dispatched & cancelled en route - By IC Safety
6117Dispatched & cancelled en route - By MA Dept
6118Dispatched & cancelled en route - By IPD
6119Dispatched & cancelled en route - By Other
621 Wrong location
622 No Incident found on arrival at dispatch address
631 Authorized controlled burning
641 Vicinity alarm (incident in other location)
650 Steam, Other gas mistaken for smoke, Other
651 Smoke scare, odor of smoke
652 Steam, vapor, fog or dust thought to be smoke
653 Smoke from barbecue, tar kettle
661 EMS call, party transported by non -fire agency
671 HazMat release investigation w/no HazMat
700 False alarm or false call, Other
7001False alarm or false call, Other - Medical Alarm
710 Malicious, mischievous false call, Other
711 Municipal alarm system, malicious false alarm
713 Telephone, malicious false alarm
714 Central station, malicious false alarm
715 Local alarm system, malicious false alarm
721 Bomb scare - no bomb
730 System malfunction, Other
7
8
0
6
2
42
13
10
190
29
171
62
6
7
2
1
54
0
1
0
9
2
0
1
25
6
59
12
1
0
14
1
0
32
01/01/2018
01/01/2017
01/01/2016
to
to
to
09/30/2018
09/30/2017
09/30/2016
5
6
9
9
11
13
10
6
8
1
0
0
1
2
1
5
1
1
5
11
7
17
12
20
3
5
3
8
7
9
6
4
7
3
1
0
7
4
5
1
1
4
43
44
61
7
6
8
25
22
14
215
261
242
22
18
30
152
145
147
66
69
82
0
11
13
10
11
9
4
1
1
0
0
0
61
48
27
1
2
1
1
3
0
3
0
1
10
20
12
4
2
4
1
0
1
1
2
1
25
33
38
15
4
33
39
42
59
4
5
4
3
1
2
1
0
0
10
17
22
4
6
1
0
1
0
27
38
25
10/01/2019 10:40 Page 3
Ithaca FD
PeriodIncident Type Comparisons 11
Alarm Date Between (01/01/2019) and (09/30/2019)
Incident Type
01/01/2019
01/01/2018
01/01/2017
01/01/2016
to
to
to
to
09/30/2019
09/30/2018
09/30/2017
09/30/2016
731
Sprinkler activation due to malfunction
13
10
3
10
733
Smoke detector activation due to malfunction
65
75
63
77
734
Heat detector activation due to malfunction
9
12
6
6
735
Alarm system sounded due to malfunction
52
49
88
64
736
CO detector activation due to malfunction
22
16
21
22
740
Unintentional transmission of alarm, Other
90
89
88
61
741
Sprinkler activation, no fire - unintentional
20
19
17
12
742
Extinguishing system activation
0
0
3
0
743
Smoke detector activation, no fire -
491
450
454
396
744
Detector activation, no fire - unintentional
51
59
54
70
745
Alarm system activation, no fire - unintentional
103
113
159
103
746
Carbon monoxide detector activation, no CO
2
6
8
9
800
Severe weather or natural disaster, Other
11
1
3
0
812
Flood assessment
0
0
2
0
813
Wind storm, tornado/hurricane assessment
3
3
1
0
900
Special type of incident, Other
0
1
4
3
911
Citizen complaint
2
0
1
0
Totals
3930
3864
3976
3863
10/01/2019 10:40 Page 4
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