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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002-02-13Tfl 02 -13 -02 TOWN OF DRYDEN TOWN BOARD KEETING February 13, 2002 Board Members Present: Supv Mark Varvayanis, Cl Stephen Stelick, Jr., Cl Christopher Michaels Absent: Cl Charles Hatfield, Cl Deborah Grantham Other Elected Officials: Bambi L. Hollenbeck, Town Clerk Jack Bush, Highway Superintendent Other Town Staff: Mahlon R. Perkins, Town Attorney Henry Slater, Zoning Officer David Putnam (TG Millers), Town Engineer Supv Varvayanis opened the meeting at 7:05 p.m. Board members and guests participated in the pledge of allegiance, followed by a moment of silence. Supv Varvayanis noted that Cl Grantham is unable to attend because of recent surgery and Cl Hatfield is in Florida. Michael Lane, County Representative, is attending the school presentation tonight, and Martha. Robertson, County Representative, gave her report last week. CITIZENS PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR Tom Seeley, 332 Hurd Road, said that he received a letter today from the Town Highway Department and would like to comment:. T Seeley - The letter indicates that the Highway Department will begin preliminary work which is done normally before paving because the road is falling apart. The work will consist of tree cutting and trimming, etc. The Highway Superintendent will mark trees with white paint that we wish to cut completely to the ground and will cut unsafe trees and to help more light shine on the road, etc. I'm commenting because first of all, 1 own 82 acres up along Hurd .Road and that translates into a half mile of Hurd Road. The woods that I own now I manage for firewood, for timber, and for maple syrup production and as I see it, the Town does not own those trees that it wishes to cut. You own the road, but you don't own the trees. Secondly, I'd like to point out that I don't think that shadow on that road is the problem. The road is falling apart where the road is sunny and clear and it's falling apart where the road is shady. I've built roads here in Ithaca, I've built roads up in Maine, and I know what the problem with that road is. You've got just a skin, about half an inch, of adhesive material on top of a bed of clay. And when that road gets wet, that road becomes like a sponge. It moves up and down. I run along that road. I know when it: gets soft up there, the whole thing just flexes. You can feel just as a person walking on it, and when cars go over it, it breaks up that skin that's on top there, and then the road disintegrates. That road is coming apart where it is shady or where it is bright, and I don't think letting sunlight in there is going to do the trick in getting that road to stay together. My main point is I'm unhappy with the prospect of losing some trees and I don't feel it's correct because I don't think the Town owns those trees. Jack Bush - It was evident from the letter 1 wrote to all the residents up there that my purpose was to let all those people know that we'd like to cut some trees and if there was any issue that I was more than willing to come up there and discuss it with them. Pagc 1 of 12 i Q TB 02 -13-02 T Seeley - I'd be happy to discuss that with you, but the way it is worded it says "we will be marking trees with white paint' Cl Michaels asked what the time frame was and J Bush said they were hoping to do it next Wednesday, Cl Stetick asked how many trees were involved. J Bush - ]'m not really sure. We're aware that it was a sensitive area and we want to be very conservative when we cut the trees. T Seeley - Would you agree, Jack, that the problem goes beyond, and may even have nothing to do with shading of the road? J Bush - I would say it's a contributing factor, and I will also agree that there are other factors. Peggy Walbridge, Hunt Hill Road - Hunt Hill Toad roughly parallels Hurd Road. They are both lightly used roads. They are also steep. Widening and heavier surfaces are not going to make those roads any st -tfer. I would like the Town to make a determination. Are you saying that you own 60 feet of right -of -way? I think that Mr. Seeley is indicating that he doesn't believe you do, and I also, Jack knows as well, do not want them cutting on my land. I think it is somewhat misleading for the Highway Superintendent to be going out encouraging the misbelief of landowners and citizens that the municipality has the right to take your land. Supv Varvayanis -'Phis letter doesn't: say anywhere that we own 60 said he'd like to mark trees that he thinks are unsafe. Could you describe you mean by an unsafe tree? J Bush - A tree that possibly has been hit by a vehicle or a snowplc has a lot of dead growth in it. It may stall have some green in it, but 1 thin] sense thing. There again, I've notified all the people up there. We're not to anything. feet of road. He a little more what 1w wing. A tree that s it's a common ying to hide Supv Varvayanis - Since we don't really know what you plan on doing yet, would it make sense to have him mark the trees that he thinks are unsafe, and you agree not to cut any until we hear? T Seeley - That would be fine, but the letter doesn't say just to cut unsafe trees, it ,says to cut unsafe trees and to let more light shine on the road. My concern is, if it's a dead old tree, I don't give a damn, but if it's a nice, live timber tree or sugar maple, that's a different matter. Mary Squires - I'm also a resident and received the same letter. I just wanted to note that I'm also concerned about having my trees cut. I don't give permission for my trees to be cut, but if he wants to come talk to me. Supv Varvayanis - Do you mind if he marks them? M Squires - I don't want permanent white marks on my trees. J Bush - That seems to be the best way. That way there's no confusion whether it be from the property owner, myself or the employees that have to go cut them. We're trying to make it work for everybody. We can make a small mark. T Seeley - Can you use flagging? Page 2 of 12 TB 02 -1302 J Bush - I suppose we could, 1 don't kxww if there's a hundred trees there nr tin trees and I think it q%-oWd. be silly to wrap every tree if we've got a hundred trees. I Stelick - Jack, you're going to make the time to meet. with Mr. Seeley, and anybody else? J Bush - Certainly, if that's what he wants. That's what the letter states, Robin Seeley - We appreciate the letter in advance. But I think it's worthwhile painting out there are a few dead trees along the edge of the road, and the reams they are dead is because when the Tovm widened the road, it just pushed the fill up against the tree, And now, number of years later, the trees are dead, I also wanted to point out that the 'Town has kind of a bad reputation with respect to marking trees and saying that they aren't going to cut them. Everybody its the neighborhood has the horror st;ary of Ellis Hollow reOc Road in the b k of their mind when people fmmd the highway crews out there in the morning marking their trees, came out and said "surely you aren't going to take that big maple ? ", and the, highway people said 11 no, we're not going to take that ", and they went off to work and came back and found their trees gone_ J Bush = To my knowledge, there were no trees marked back then, and that was not under my management, R Seeley - I wasn't saying it was. I was just saying it makes us nervous. J Bush - That's not what: I heard you gust say. It sound% to me like you said the trees TaTre marked and (hen they wcnt and cut trees that weren't marked. R Seeley - I don't know if they were marked with psini. or whether they were marked some other way, and I don't know that Co be fact either, I'm just saying the story has circulated enough to make the landowner* nervous. But if we can walk up and down the road, painting to which trees should be cut, that should be a good starting point for discussion. Supv Varvayanis - light now we have Jack who I believe just said he wouldn't cut tree* until after he had marked the trees he wanted and talked to you. That's what you said isn't it? J Bush - On their property. I must have sent out 2 0 letters and I'm sure that some of those people may not have any Ojection to us cutting trees, T Seeley - Do we have an agreement t'oiiight, that if Jack and I meet and i say I don't want a tree cut, that the tree not he cut? J Bush - I Won't agree to thj.t, tonight, T Seeley - You don't own those trees, Mr. Bush_ J Bush - Well, that could be a determination done by the Court. Alty Perkins , f Mink any discussion about what trees are going to be cut depends first of all on getting them marked sn we can idea tify where they are, Supv Varvay anis - I agree with that, will you wait until _ _ 0 J Bush - Certainly on the land MT& Mrs Seeley own, I wilt_ Page 3 of 12 T]3 02 -13 -02 Supv Varvayan % - 0lkay, Or any other property owner who complains. Sounds reasonable to you? Atty Perkins - Sure, J Bush - Sounds very agreeable to me. T Seeley - Sounds good to me, Mark Symeon, 123 Upper Creek Road, presented a petition signed by residents of Upper Creek Road, requesting a reduction of the speed limit on the road from 55 mph to 35 mph. They feel it is dangerous and there have been a. Jot of accidenl;w pers killed on the road_ One person was hit trying to hack out of their driveway. There is a blind corner and people travel very fast on the road. They would like the Tourn's suppiart. Supv Varvayanis explained that the Smte controls the speed ltnlits, but the Board could accept the petition and pass a resolution if the board is inclined to pass it on the County and State. He suggested that in the meantime the Highway Superintendent could put: up a hidden driveway sign if he determines it is necessary_ J .c1k Bush asked Mr. Symeon to contact him. Mr. ymean sari that there are signs for hidden driveway, slippery When wet, school bus stop, etc, but he feels a speed limit of 35 mp1Z is appropriate. The road has been become a commuter shortcut since the construction on route 13. There is a creek that runs along side the road. Cl Michaels informed Mr. Symeon that the residents of ]Ellis Hollow are trying to suet up a meeting with NYS ]DOT to get a uniform 40 mph speed Iimi# and suggested that Mr. Symeon contact Deter Messmer of Tompkins County Highway and ; M+ rtha Robertson, 'County Soard Representative, Peggy Walbridge wondered whether it is necessary to post "end of spaud 3.imit" signs. Ality Perkins said that it would be difficult to enforce speed limits without beivag able to identify where the zones end. Jack bush said that he believes they have to be posted, but would cheep mto it_ RESOLUTION #91 - SPEED Id11'i1T REQUEST FOR UPPER CREEK ROAD C1 Michaels offered the following resolution. and asked for its adoption: WIAE1REAS. the Town of ]Dryden is concerned for the saFety of its residents and tlaose people travelling through the Town, and Wh E RFAS, the Town Board has received a petition from residents of Upper Creek Road requesting a reduction in the speed limit on 1;t road, heard their reasons for the request, now therefore, be il. RESOLVED that thi.% Town ]Board hereby supports a lower speed limit on the entire length of Upper Creek road, an d it i further RESOLVED, that the 'Town Clerk is directed to prepare the appropriate docwrnents and fo -Fward them to the Tompkins County Highway Manager and/or the New York State Department of 'Transportation._ 2nd Cl Stelick Roll Call Vote Cl Stelick Yes Supv Varva auis Yes Cl icbaela Yes Page 4 of 12 T'S 02 -13 -02 Dana Abbey of Dryden Ambulance has previously provided board members with various reports, including a list of all members of Dryden Ambulance and Neptune Hose Company and a list of the activity and point summary for each member for the past year. He explained how the points are assigned. The monthly report log shows the date of call, the nun number, patient: care report number, address of call, nature of call, whether it an ALS or BLS call, no transport or refused treatment on scene. NTS means cancellation while en route to scene. Times are included in the report. There is a list: of the money collected during the month of January and turned over to the Town ($18,006.67). The Board of Directors of Dryden Ambulance, Inc. has hired Teri Allen as a full lime paramedic manager and the board was provided with a copy of her resume. Teri Allen stated that organizationally there are a lot of things ghat need to come into compliance, such as policies for employees, analyze the day to day operations, and try to set up benefit packages. She reported that the billing process is a mess. There have been billing errors since 1998. She will attempt to make a determination as to whether those bills are collectable. It is her goal to be able to rectify at least the last few years. She will be generating monthly reports, aging reports. She stated it is a big undertaking as she is not very fluent in billing nor experienced with the software they have. She distributed copies of reports to the Board regarding the billing for January and will continue to provide monthly reports to the board. She is attempting to determine whether the current software really fits their needs (it is an aging program that e«ll need to be replaced) and she is examining other programs, and checking into outside billing. She is committed to making things work, as is Dryden Ambulance, and thinks that with a good communication process they will be able to do exactly as the Town wants and be very accountable. Supv Varvayanis asked about the patient names on the reports and she stated she ® could not remove them, but would try to do so. Supv Varvayanis asked Dana Abbey about the hours and hours paid columns in the point summary report. Volunteers are not paid, but an arbitrary value is assigned in the program. D Abbey provided a list of all officers of the corporation (Dryden Ambulance, Enc.) He noted there had been a request to have the budget posted on. the Town w-ebsite. D Abbey - We are all fully aware that it is public information. No officer of Dryden Ambulance has any problem with anybody seeing this budget. Before it is posted on the Town website we would like to offer to hold a budget hearing at our fire station and invite the Town, the public, and any concerned taxpayer to come in to our organization and sit down and see what: we do, how Ave do it, and how the budget was arrived. It bothers myself personally when I read in the paper that a taxpayer accuses the Town of choosing to go with an ambulance service with a history of poor management. Where that's ever derived at 1 have no idea because that individual never requested any information from Dryden Ambulance. How that determination was made and published I have no idea, but it is very frustrating for us who are trying to do a jab. He noted that the budget itself was not discussed at the meeting held at the fire station in January. They will advertise and host another meeting. Bill Ackroyd said that he thought it was important that they hold another meeting and invite anyone who would like to see the business processes, how they manage their books and operations, the accounts payable, accounts receivable, operating guidelines and procedures, regulatory agencies that they have to deal with (OSHA, FDA, etc), how they maintain and manage their apparatus, their equipment, building and facilities. 'There is a an implied mistrust and mismanagement and they would like ® to put that to rest. Page 5 of 12 TB 02 -13 -02 Bill Ackroyd - It's insulting that someone quoted in the newspaper that we have a history of poor management:. I think if you look at the board of directors of Neptune Hose Company and Dryden Ambulance over the years, you will find that the people that are elected to those positions are reputable and respected business people from Fortune 500 companies, local municipalities, local businesses and privately owned businesses, and most of them have been pretty successful. So to carte blanche whitewash us with the term poor management I think is irresponsible. D Abbey - In May of 2001 we came to the Town Board with a request for $30,000 in additional funding for the restocking of supplies and narcotics once the hospital quit doing it and we were notified that they were going to do this. The Town graciously offered to help us with that expense. I`ve given you a list of our expenses, and down on the bottom there is some circling that says medical expendable supplies, medical narcotics and medical non - narcotic drugs on the front page. They total $18,579. This is what was spent out of the $30,000 allotment. I'm here to give back a check to the district for $11,421 in good Rdth. That's all I have. Cl Michaels stated that the reports were fantastic. He suggested that perhaps a summary report of the accounts receivable without the names of patients would be sufficient. Cl Stelick asked T Allen how quickly the amount of money that has been uncollected could be determined, and she thought perhaps within the next month. D Abbey reported that he believed there was approximately $124,000 outstanding (since 1998). T Allen explained that each and every file will have to be examined and determinations made with respect to outstanding balances, such as whether it is a write -off after reimbursement by Medicare or Medicaid. Robin Seeley had questions regarding the ambulance budget, which she understands • was from January. In comparing the figure for January through November 2001 with the figure for 2002, she noted that the total for 2002 was $395,830 and wondered why that does not match the $453,000 figure (the contract figure). On the first page there is large increase in the building lease from $43,000 to $75,000 and she wondered why it went up so much. Budding repair escrow disappears and she wondered why. The largest expense is the employee expense because now Dryden Ambulance is paying employees that they weren't before of $180,000 and she wondered how many full time paramedics that: represents because in the Town budget the Town had estimated personal services of $125,000. Dana Abbey responded, that the $180,000 was their worst -case scenario of the total payroll for all paramedics and the business manager. When they put the budget together they anticipated the possibility of four full time paramedics and a business manager for the operation, and went under the assumption that they would not have volunteer help. The contractual obligation is to provide service around the clock, and if all the volunteers quit they would have to pay paramedics to fill those spots. With respect to the building lease, D Abbey and B Ackroyd explained that Dryden Ambulance, Inc pays rent to Neptune Hose and in previous budgets it was broken down into different line items, and the total has not increased in two years. Bill tAckroyd offered to have their accountant attend the meeting they would like to hold on the budget to help answer some of the questions. R Seeley asked if they assumed a worst: case scenario with respect to wages, why is the total not $453,000. D Abbey said the budget he has, dated January 2, says $453,000, and that the budget was worked on in September and October, and the award from the Town wasn't given until December, so the budget was adjusted after. R Seeley said if they did a proposal for the Town, they must have had a budget. Ikon Hartman, Quarry Road, said that the Town accepted a budget for $453,000 not 40 recognizing that $180,000 of it, plus payroll taxes, etc., was a. cushion in case all the Pagc 6 of 12 TB 02- 13412 ® volunteers quit. He said that before the contract was approved, if the Town had known the details, the Town might have said they couldn't hire five people, and might have lowered the budget considerably. It sounds like they may not spend the $453,000 but the tax rate went up 1000% because the Town accepted a budget that was worst -case scenario. Dana Abbey reminded Mr. Hartman that they are a not - for -profit corporation and if there is a surplus and the contract is awarded to them next year, the amount of the contract will be reduced. Supv Varvayanis stated that Mr. Hartman's point was that he thinks the Town was deficient. D Hartman - I don't think there is anybody at the meetings that I have attended that challenged the dedication of the ambulance corps and their commitment. But when one looks at a 1000% increase in tax rate and a budget that went from $46,000 to $450,000 and when one has competing firms that come with bids that are lower for the same service, granted they collect the revenue, one has to question what's different: in 2002 from 2001, that someone else is suggesting they can provide it at a significantly lower cost. That does beg the question whether there has been a deficiency in the way this thing has been managed for a lot of years, and what I've heard from some of the people at the board is that they were running deficits and running deficits and now they had to make that up. They made it up by a big increase in one year. If I misread that, I apologize, but I thought that's what I heard. That says to me it was mismanaged. Cl Michaels - You keep mentioning the very large percentage increase in the tax rate from last year. There was a surplus of about $100,000 in the budget at the end of 2000, and the budget for 2001 was artificially lowered to clear that surplus. In addition there was about a $60,000 overrun. The Town was basically trying to bring that surplus down to zero, but there were some additional charges that came up during the course of the year, and we actually undershot the total budget. So in the 2002 budget not only does it not include the ® $100,000 that was trying to be refunded back to the district, but is making up $60,000 that was spent last year that wasn't accounted for. So there is $160,000 differential between the two budgets that are totally just a matter of an accounting issue. D Hartman - I would beg to differ. 1 would say that for the last two years we have had reductions in our ambulance charges, so we made an accounting problem two years in a row, not one. That says to me that something is being mismanaged. Supv Varva_yanis - That again, falls on the Town.. There was a significant surplus, there was an attempt to bring it down. Last year as was just pointed out a request was made for an extra $30,000. The billing wasn't handled well, and we ran higher expenses and lower revenue than we expected. We were kind of hoping for a soft landing and it turned out: to be somewhat of a crash. At the same time we had a crash on this end, we had the contract issue. D Hartman stated the Town also had an obligation before accepting the budget to recognize what the potential revenue opportunity vas, if in fact the Town was going to collect the monies. He said that the tax rate should have been derived by subtracting $124,000 from $453,000 and that if the revenues received in January continued at the same amount, the total revenues would in fact be about a quarter of million dollars in revenues, which would have lowered the budget by $100,000. He stated that: it seem that the worst case scenario was taken across the board and thrown at the taxpayers saying pay the bill and we'll make up for next year if we overspend or underspend. He does not believe the Town aggressively pursued the budget and say determine what was most reasonable to expect, and that is a Town issue, not an ambulance issue. C1 Michaels said he understood that Mr Hartman would like to see the budget balanced so that it resulted in a net balance of zero, but that is very difficult. In terms of the line item is relating to the Dryden Ambulance contract, he understands that Mr. Hartman would like the Page 7 of 12 Ts 02 -13-02 Town to have a better understanding of the budgetary items and the numbers that go into that contract. 40 Peggy Walbridge said she would like Dryden Ambulance to have a meeting with the Town Board for the next budget and information available to the public so that everyone could understand what was going on in a timely manner. She suggested it be available in the Fall. Cl Stelick said he has been working closely with Dana Abbey and that one of his goals as a Town Board member is to .make sure that information available and every effort will be made to make sure there are no surprises at budget time. The budget meeting for the Ambulance was tentatively scheduled February 27, 2002 at the Dryden Fire Station at 7:30 p.m. Supv Varvayanis stated that the Town shares a. large share of the responsibility for the tax increase and he has tried to make that clear. There is a committee set up that will be working hard and hopefully we'll improve management on this end. COUNTY BRIEFING George Totman, County Representative, said this is a new year and not much is happening yet. COUNCIL PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR None. ATTORNEY Atty Perkins reported that earlier this year the Town received a letter from Nathan Winograd of the SPCA in response to a letter a citizen had written about a dangerous dog case that had been prosecuted in the Town of Dryden Justice Court. That case was prosecuted by the two SPCA officers involved on the complaint of the citizen bitten by the dot;. It was apparently not the dog's first bite and there may be as many as ten more on record. Following a hearing, Judge Valentinelli determined that it was a dangerous dog and directed that it be destroyed. The owner then appealed the decision to the County Court, whereupon Judge Rowley issued a stay of that order to destroy the dog, until the matter could be resolved. The District Attorney's Office has decided that it is not involved. Therefore the obligation to represent the SPCA in the matter will fall on the Town because the Town collects dog control monies under the Agriculture and Markets Law. There are some issues regarding how the case was handled. Everybody agreed after a meeting in the Judge's chambers that he could sign an order to have the dog evaluated by a dog evaluator, and they are waiting for that evaluation to be completed. The owner has represented to the Court and to everyone else that if the dog evaluator says this is not a good dog, they will have the dog put down. That would make the case moot and end the Town's involvement. A question has been raised about the money that the Town gives in its budget to Gadabout, the Senior Citizens, the Dryden Seniors, the Southworth Library, the Dryden Town Historical Society, -Learning Web, and Women's Opportunity Center. Technically, the Town is required to have some kind of a contract with these organizations before it makes public monies available to them. A simple contract will suffice. When the Town offers to do something for a private organization or citizen, it is an unconstitutional gift unless there is some quid pro quo for the Town. Atty Perkins suggested that we write to these organizations and request a description of what the Town gets for this money so that he can put together a simple contract to be renewed annually. That will bring the ']own into compliance with the Pack 8 of 12 TB 02 -13 -112 opinions of the State Comptroller and Article 8, Section 1, of the New York State Constitution. is Supv Varvayanis will write to the organizations. Supv Varvayanis said that he had received a letter from Chris O'Connor of Sapsucker Woods Road for water and sewer service as an out of district user. He will contract with the Village of Lansing. Atty Perkins pointed out that he will not be an out of district user because he will not be connecting to any Town -owned facilities. An out -of- district user by definition would be someone who is not actually in a water district but connects to the water district: facilities and they do that contractually. Atty Perkins suggested the board could pass a resolution saying the Town has no objection to him tapping into Cornell's line. RESOLUTION #92 - C. O'CONNOR WATER & SEWER Supv Varvayanis offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that Town of Dryden has no objection to the properties at 143 and 161 Sapsucker Woods Road being connected to non Town of Dryden water and sewer supplies, whether they be the Village of Lansing, Cornell University, or Town of Ithaca. 2nd Cl Michaels Roll Call Vote Cl Stelick Yes Supv Varvayanis Yes Cl Michaels Yes In response to a question from Cl Michaels regarding the CDBG grants to Miller and Teeter, Atty Perkins responded: You may have heard my report in January about the lawsuit ® which was brought by Mr. Casalaro involving property in Freeville that we had a lien on when we didn't get notice. Previously the Town authorized me to put together the appropriate documentation to give to the County so they are aware that we are in fact interest holders, lien holders, mortgage holders and we get notice of tax foreclosures other than the statutory notice that goes to every town. I have done that, which Mark has signed and which I will be filing with the County enforcing officer. The CDBG program papers were not prepared, I hope they were not prepared by an attorney, they really were deficient. They didn't get the right address down for the Town of Dryden and had all the papers and notices going to Better Housing. I only discovered some of this as I was doing a very brief audit of what we had as far as liens and mortgages on these properties to protect the Town and protect these public monies. I going over that I discovered these two situations. My recommendation would be first of all to check with Better Housing to make sure that what we have is exactly what is there, and if it is, a mortgage of correction ought to be executed and we ought: to get it recorded. Supv Varvayanis - It sounds like we ought to be on the right piece of property to me. I assume you don't need a full resolution. Atty Perkins - Just tell me and I'll take care of it. Cl Michaels asked if there had been any response regarding the proposed fire contracts. D Putnam said that the four departments have been meeting to try to answer their concerns as one so that the Town didn't have four different responses coming back. They will be meeting again next Wednesday night. Cl Michaels stated again that the report filed with the State will be sufficient information for the town. TOWN CLERK O Board members have the Clerk's monthly report and report of tax collection to date. Of the $6,064,448.48 total warrant, there is an outstanding balance of $1,468,622.51. Page 9 of 12 TB 02 -13 -02 ENGINEERING 0 D Putnam reported that they are still working with River Solutions to try to finalize a budget and schedule for the Fake Road /Virgil Creek project. TG Miller is subcontracting with River Solutions for some of the work on this project. Atty Perkins felt that for accounting purposes and expenditure of the finds, a separate contract might be appropriate and will prepare a simple contract with TG Miller Engineers for this project. ZONING OFFICER Board members have been provided with the monthly report, and had no questions. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS Jack Bush said that the Board had previously approved a fume change for the trail and a memorial for Ed Sweetland, and wondered if the board wanted input with respect to what the plaque /memorial looked like. The Board did not and he will see that it is taken care of. HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT J' Bush would like to send employees to several different Cornell Local Road schools at a cost of $30 per person for a one -day workshop, up to a maximum of $600. Workshops offered are: Basics of a good road; reducing liability for local. highway officials, surveying methods, work zone traffic controls. RESOLUTION #92 - AUTHORIZE ATTENDANCE OF HIGHWAY EMPLOYEES AT CORNELL LOCAL ROADS WORKSHOPS 0 Cl Michaels offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Torun Board hereby authorizes the Highway Superintendent to send his employees to workshops offered by the Cornell Local Roads .Program at a cost of $30 per employee per workshop, not to exceed $600. 2nd Cl St:elick Roll Call Vote Cl Stelick Yes Supv Varvaya.nis Yes Cl Michaels Yes J Bush reminded the Board that he is still interested in a medical insurance premium pre -tax payment plan. Cl Michaels said he had reviewed the material provided and wondered what needed to be done to implement the plcuis. He wondered whether you could have a medical insurance premium pre -tax payment plan and flexible spending accounts overlapping. Atty Perkins said he was unsure, but if they were something that would apply to the Highway Department they would have to be bargained for, not imposed, and would they apply to anyone else in the Town. Cl Michaels said he was thinking of the employees outside of the bargauiirtg unit and implementing it, but understood it would have to be bargained for with respect to the Highway Department. Atty Perkins �vfll review the matter and report back to the board. J Bush stated that. he believed it was time to move forward with construction of a salt storage building. Atty Perkins will look into procedure and bring a formal resolution to the Board in March. 0 Page 10 of 12 TO 02 -13 -02 A letter has been received from Peter Davies regarding his desire to plant wildflowers at the junction of Snyder Hill and Sodum Roads, J Bush distributed copies of that letter to the Board together with a copy of his response to Mr. Davies. Tompkins County Department of Planning has notified the Highway Superintendent that there will be studies conducted in 2002 and 2003 and there will be no applications accepted under the Flood Hazard Mitigation Program for those years. DISCUSSION Supv Varvayanis reported that he had contacted Richard Tureeek to see if he wanted to resign from the Planning Board since he has not attended meetings for quite some time. Mr. T indicated that he did, but a formal, written resignation has not yet been received. Supv Varvayanis will follow up on that. Cl Michaels suggested that the Town institute an attendance requirement for the Planning Board. 'That will require adoption of a local law, and Atty Perkins will draft one. C1 Michaels suggested that it: may be a good idea for other boards, such as the Recreation Commission and Conservation Advisory Council. Atty Perkins reported that just after the Town established the Ambulance District and prior to the first taxable status date following the creation of the district, the Town passed a resolution declaring that it would use for ambulance district purposes ag assessed values, rather than full values. So if a farm had the benefit of an ag exemption, then that would be the value used in the assessment portion of the formula. Apparently the Assessment Department never received a copy of that resolution and for years it never got corrected on the assessment roll. Therefore there has been recent discussion with the Assessment .Department about whether or not there can be a refund or should be a refund because this resolution was in place, or whether we can only go forward and do it correctly in the future. Supv Varvayanis reported that there can be one application made for correction for an individual, or a blanket application for all farmers. A refund can be made for the past three years, and it is estimated the total refund by the Town would be around $11,000 total. There is a site plan review scheduled for ICS Press on March 6, 2002. RESOLUTION #94 - APPROVE ABSTRACT # 102 Supv Varvayanis offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby approves Abstract # 102, as audited, vouchers #84 through # 18 1., excepting # 1.04, totaling $173,997.91. 2nd Cl Stelick Roll Call Vote Cl Stelick Yes Supv Varvayanis Yes Cl Michaels Yes Supv Varvavanis asked Atty Perkins whether it was absolutely necessary for council members to go over each and every bill and sign them, according to State Law. Atty Perkins said his understanding was that they did, but he will check into it. Cl Michaels said that his wife works for Trowbridge & Wolf, the landscape architecture firm that assisted ICS Press with their submissions for site plan review, and he wondered if he should recuse himself. His wife did none of the work on the project. Atty Perkins asked if her Page t l of 12 TS 02 -134)2 employment or compensation depended on whether the project is approved and Cl Michaels said it did not. Atty Perkins said he did not believe it would be a conflict. 40 Supv Varvayanis will advertise for members for the Youth Commission. Cl Michaels asked what the nett step would be with regard to the Space /Needs Assessment for the new town hall. He asked what sections of Town offices needed to be together and B Hollenbeck told him that those discussions were had at committee meetings. He wondered if it made sense to separate the Court in a separate building and she told him that the Court Clerks were concerned about safety if that were to happen. Supv Varvayanis reported that the union would be voting on the proposed contract tomorrow. The board considered the possibility of a special meeting to authorize the Supervisor to sign the contract if it was approved. The board has seen the contract and after discussion decided to authorize the Supervisor to sign the contract if it is accepted as written. RESOLUTION #95 - APPROVE UNION CONTRACT Cl Michaels offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby approves the contract with the Teamsters as provided in the February 4, 2002, from Joseph Steflik, Esq. and authorized the Supervisor to sign the same. 211d Cl Stelick Roll Call Vote Cl Stelick Yes Supv Varvayanis Yes Cl Michaels Yes On motion made; seconded and unanimously carried, the meeting was adjourned at 9:12 p.m. Respectfully submitted, /' E� X Bambi. L. Hollenbeck Town Clerk Pagc 12 of 12