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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2002-11-13TB 1143-02 TOWN OF DR DEN Is TOWN BOARD MEETING November I, 2002 Board Members Present= Supv Mark Vanayanis, Cl Charles Hatfield, C1 Stephen Stelick, Jr_, C1 ]7ebvrah GTantham, Cl bTx Sl'opher MichaeLs Other Elected Officials= F3ambi L. Hollenbeck, Town Clerk Other Town Staff: Mahlon R_ Perldns, Town Attorney Kevin Ezell, Asst sorting Officer M Kenry Slater, ZonixV Officer David Putnam (TO Millers), Town Engineer PUBLIC FEARING ONTINUATION OF SITE PLAN REVIEW APPLICATION OF SNEDEKER ENTERPRISES TO ESTABLISH A DRIVE THROU011 COFFEE SHOP KNOWN AS THE BUZZ STOP AT 1408 DRDEN ROAD Supv Varvayanis opened the h"Ying at 7 :05 p.m. This hearing was continued because a 239 1 & m n letter had not been received from Tompkins County Planing qt the previous hearing. Atty Perkins said it was his understanding that when the site plan went to the aunty it did not show the used Cr1r sales by Ralph Crandall on it, and w}a.en the County wrote their letter they vJere under the assumption that the prel2ously approved used car zWes would cease with the approval of the Buzz Si:op ,rite plantr if that use continues they require a new site plan which shows the car sales on the parcel. After the letter was received a new site plan showing the location of the used cars was forwarded to the County. Atty Perkins said that technically, the letter in hared from the County does not cover the revised site plan. Assistant Zoning Officer, Kevin Ezell, explained that ZO Slater has ,since spoken with County Planning and submitted the site plant shvning the used car sales. ZO Slater asked if he could have a verbal approval and County Plarin ng said that their approval would be forthcoming, and the Towrt Board could approve the sine plant. Supv Varvayam said he was a little uncomfortable about that, but if ether board members had no objections, he would proceed- Cl Grantbam asked if the !tile distance from either of the marl cuts was_ Distances have not been exactly deterimined, bLit applicant indicated it was good, and there was a wide center median that helps in making left hand turns, and the road has ten foot shoulders. Supv Varvayanis closed the public hearing at 7: 15 pin and opened the town board meeting. RESOLUTION #209 = APPROVE ABSTRACT #111 C;1 Grantham offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption, RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby approves }Abstract # 111, as audited, vouchers 0854 through 977, totaling $250,082,71, 2..A Cl Michaels Roll Call Vote Cl Hatfield Yes Supv Varvayanis Yes l ilge 1 of 9 Cl Michaels Yes C1 Grantham Yes CITIZENS PRIVILEGE None COUNTY BRIEFING TB 11 -13-02 Mike Lane said the County has had two public meetings and public hearing last night regarding the County budget. They have heard from people who say they have not cut enough and others who say they have cut too deeply. He would like to hear from dairy farmers because they are being hit by increased taxes on their land and at the same time the price of milk is very low. A lot of costs have been pushed down by the State on to the real property taxes. The increase proposed by the County is about 13' %, which is the increased cost of medicaid. This means that the cuts they have made have more than offset the other increases they have because of labor contracts, increased costs of operation, etc. They have proposed to eliminate 39 positions in the County. A majority of the board has voted to reinstate the sales tax on clothing and shoes. M Lane is opposed to that believing it is a bad move for the business climate in Tompkins County, and is giving the residents an excuse to shop in other counties. This will, however, increase the tax revenues for the County and Towns. He hopes that they will be able to remove that sales tax again in the future. North Triphammer Road bridge has been opened, the project having been completed with Federal and State funds. The Ellis Hollow Road project will probably be postponed even further. M Lane said the cuts they have had to make will probably result in roads being less well- maintained. They have lost a deputy position. They cut back one position in the District Attorney's office, but will probably have to restore that because the City of Ithaca has elected to terminate it's City Prosecutor's office, so the prosecutorial job will revert to the District Attorney's Office. The tax increase is currently at 1.2.9% before adding the position at the District Attorney's Office. M Lane expects there will be some efforts made to cut the budget and some efforts made to increase spending. He is hoping that they will be able to maintain services at the present level, but for the most part they have not had to completely eliminate programs. Cl Michaels asked whether the Human ]lights Commission was still funded and M Lane said that it was. Cl Michaels said in his opinion the Human Rights Commission is completely duplicate and unnecessary spending and he did not feel a local office was called for. M Lane said in his opinion the Human Rights Commission did good work and shorten the time for people to receive a response and he would not be in favor of eliminating it. Martha Robertson said that mandates from the State (not including the additional staffing required at the jail) total 2.7 million dollars over 2002 and that equals the increase in the tax rate this year. They have had to absorb insurance increases, retirement funding, contracted salary and fringes, benefit increases, etc. This has resulted in a very real cut in other areas. There will be a meeting December S regarding the Red Mill Road Bridge at the Public `'forks Facility on Bostwick Road. The Becks, DOT representatives, engineers who have been working on the project and staff from the highway department will be present. The State Historic Preservation Office will not be able to attend, but the County has asked that someone from that office be available by telephone. Page 2 of 9 TB 11 -13 -02 M Robertson reported that :Peter Messmer has done an engineering analysis of the issue ® of a 4 -way stop at the intersection of Turkey HAI and Quarry Road. His opinion is that the necessary criteria to establish that 4 -way stop have not: been met. The accident rate, site distance and traffic volume do not warrant it. Site distance has been improved by removing some bushes. There urill probably still be some discussion regarding it. NYS DOT did lower the speed on Genung Road to 35 mph. The Board reviewed the short environmental assessment form in connection with the Buzz Stop site plan review. RESOLUTION #210 - SEQR NEG DEC - BUZZ STOP Cl Hatfield offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby accepts the short Environmental Assessment Form for the Buzz Stop site plan review as adequately completed and hereby issues a negative declaration based on the SEQR review. This is an unlisted action and the Town of Dryden is the lead agency in uncoordinated review. The Supervisor is authorized to sign all necessary documents. 2nd Cl Grantham Roll Call Vote Cl Hatfield Yes Supv Varvayanis Yes Cl Michaels Abstain Cl Grantham Yes is Cl Grantham said she is concerned with the amount of traffic that will be generated by the Buzz Stop, estimated to be two to three hundred vehicles per day. This is a lot of traffic going in and out, though it will probably be people already traveling on the road. Applicant stated that some of their customers will be those who currently frequent the neighboring Extra Mart. State Department of Transportation will have to approve the curb cuts and the Buzz Stop will be utilizing one already in place for Locke Woods Interiors. Atty Perkins explained that reducing the number of curb cuts is safer and D Putnam explained that DOT may or may not approve a second curb cut at the site. They consider the distances between curb cuts, etc and the safety engineer will determine whether one or two will be better for that site. D Bravo- Cullen said that two curb will allow safer traffic flow and explained how they plan for traffic to flow through the site. Cl Grantham reiterated that she is concerned about 200 or 300 cars going in and out of traffic. Applicant stated that is an estimate, and that may not in fact be the case. Board discussed conditions for the approval, including Standard Conditions of Approval, that any trash shall be stored inside, and the drainage plan must be approved by the Town Engineer. RESOLUTION #211 - APPROVE BUZZ STOP SITE PLAN REVIEW Cl Hatfield offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board does hereby approve the site plan for the Buzz Stop (Snedeker Enterprises) to establish a drive- through coffee shop at 1408 Dryden Road, subject to the following conditions: 1. Standard Conditions of Approval shall apply; ® 2. All trash shall be stored inside; Page 3 of 9 TB 11 -13 -02 3. Drainage plan shall be approved by the Town Engineer. ®211d Supv Varvayanis Roll Call Vote Cl Hatfield Yes Supv Varvayanis Yes Cl Michaels Abstain Cl Grantham Yes COUNCIL PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR Cl Grantham reported that she had asked Egner Associates to a plan for expanding the Town Hall at its current site and showed a sketch to the Board. She and Pain Kingsbury of Egner Associates visited a few sites on Monday, including XCP on Elm Street. They do not believe it should be further considered as the roof leaks throughout and it would be expensive to renovate. They are going to investigate the Wainwright building on West Main Street. The 'box car" site is being considered and P Kingsbury will be looking into that further. They will also look at a parcel on Barr Road, Cl Michaels asked if there was an estimate to renovate and expand the existing Town Hall, and Cl Grantham said indications from the architect was that it would be nearly as much as building new. Cl Michaels would like an estimate. Supv Varvayanis said that the Village is considering taking their court back again, and if they did, there would be less need for space in the court area. Cl Hatfield said that he had met with the Becks, Pete Messmer, and Jack Bush at the Red Mill Bridge. P Messmer told them that there were two options SHPO would agree to. One was to revamp the bridge just the way it was (it could only be 1.3 wider) and if it: originally had a wooden deck, it. would have to have a wooden deck again. The second option was to build a ® new two -lane bridge downstream, at a cost to the town of $7,000 to $9,000, $30,000 for the County and the balance paid from federal funds. Cl Hatfield would like to go on record as approving the same concept the County is proposing. M Robertson said that if the old bridge is left the Town would have to be responsible for it. She also said they were not sure if SHPO would be satisfied if the existing bridge were rebuilt in place to a stronger weight limit and the trusses were used on the side, and though this would not allow them to widen beyond the 1.3 she understood from Russ Beck that would be all right. C1 Hatfield said Russ Beck would agree to that if that is all he can get, and that would be better than what they presently have, but he is not happy with that. Cl Hatfield said the County does not want to build a bridge like that. M Robertson said they have been unable to get an answer from the engineers whether they can build a wider, stronger bridge and add the trusses, and then get approval from SHPO. Cl Hatfield said that M Robertson's solution doesn't agree with everyone else's, and M Robertson said that Pete Messmer is an employee and the County Board setts the policy. Cl Hatfield said that the Public Works Committee had agreed to this. M Robertson said she understood and it would be a revision of the capital budget and have to go through the entire board. Cl Hatfield said he was simply reporting on the meeting they had and the options presented at the time. Board discussed the possibility that the Town would be responsible for the old bridge if a new one was built. and the old one abandoned by the County. Board does not want to take responsibility /liability for the old bride. C1 Hatfield would like the board to go on record as being in favor of building a new bridge if possible. Supv Varvayanis would like more information, such as the cost of each available option and whether the Town would be responsible for the old bridge. M Robertson will bring more information to the Town at the December 4 'town Board meeting. The matter will be further discussed at the meeting at the County on December 5. The board has a copy of a draft of an agreement with Tompkins County, by the Tompkins County Health Department, to provide $7,000 toward the Virgil Creek aquifer study ® to be performed by USGS. It has been reviewed by Atty Perkins. Page 4of9 TB 11- 134)2 RESOLUTION #212 - APPROVE AGREEMENT FOR AQUIFER STUDY Cl Grantham offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby approves the agreement «rith Tompkins County, through the Tompkins County Health Department, to provide additional funding for the Virgil Creek aquifer study and the Supervisor is authorized to sign the same. 2rd Cl Michaels Roll Call Vote ATTORNEY C1 Hatfield Yes Supv Varvayanis Yes Cl Michaels Yes Cl Grantham Yes Atty Perkins said he has two matters of potential litigation which he would lake to discuss later in executive session. Peggy Walbridge asked Atty Perkins if he had received a stipulation in the Seeley, et al v. Bush matter. Ike did receive it late yesterday afternoon. TOWN CLERK B Hollenbeck asked the board to please review the draft minutes they have to date and be prepared to approve them at t :he next board meeting. ENGINEERING D Putnam provided the board with copies of the power point presentation by Steve Eidt regarding the Phase II Stormwater Regulations and the MS4 and briefly reviewed it with them. Phase 2 of the 1987 Regulations were signed in 1999 and they just finalizing the regulations now. MS4 is anything that conveys stormwater in the Town of Dryden, whether it be ditches or pipe. Phase 2 regulates small MS4 programs (populations of less than 100,000 located in urbanized areas (that includes part of the Town of Dryden. MS4 operators must submit a notice of intent by March of 2003 and must implement the program by 2008. There are six minimum control measures for MS4 permits: (1) public education and outreach, (2) public involvement and participation, (3) illicit discharge detection and elimination, (4) construction site stormwater runoff control, (5) post - construction stormwater management, and (6) pollution prevention /good housekeeping. D Putnam suggested that the towns and villages of Tompkins County may wish to join together to address the public education and outreach portion. CI Grantham said the Town of Ithaca has a. lot of work done with respect to these new regulations and would be willing to share what they have done. Cl Stelick arrived at 8:30 p.m. M Robertson noted that the County has $50,000 in its budge studies and $80,000 for subsequent years. They are waiting for the the water resources council as to which aquifers in the County have is expected next month and when it is received the County will then the Towns. Page 5 of 9 :t for next year for aquifer listing of priorities from the highest: priority. That decide horny to proceed with TB 1143 -02 ZONING OFFICER ® Kevin Ezell has given the board a memo and would like them to consider purchasing a software program from Systems Development Group of Utica. They have worked with the County on the Imate & Imate on line and digitized the County Clerk's records. A similar project could be done in the Town and allow the records to be electronically accessed by Town employees and perhaps eventually via the internet. There is money in the budget for this and he would like to use the funds to purchase the program and be ready to begin work next year. The scanner they recommend will scan multiple sizes (up to 11" by 17 ") and do both sides. Maps and plans larger than 11" x 17" will have be done outside and there will be an additional charge for it. 'Me program allows easy access to all information related to a tax parcel, including what is currently available from the County and additionally, any building permits issued, violations, special permits, etc. The building permit program will work with this program. This will save the department time as records are currently kept in Access, Excel and Wordstar programs and the new system will allow only one input. Board agrees that he should move forward with this. K Ezell said he has looked into DSL for the Town Hall and it turns out it will be cheaper per year than what is currently paid for network service. Board directed him to take the necessary steps to get the DSL hooked up. ZO Slater said there are no hearings for December unless Crown Castle is ready. Att:y Perkins said that they have requested that the Article 78 be postponed until February, which allows plenty of time to work this out. DISCUSSION ® The Tompkins County Municipal Officials Meeting will be on November 19, 2002, at 7:00 p.m. Supv Varvayanis said that the joint sewer negotiations (by six municipalities for expansion & upgrades) were not going well and there was little if any progress being made, and Susan Brock, Sterns & Wheler, and Chazen continue to bill and be paid for services. He asked the board if they felt it would be all right for him to stop attending the meetings until some progress has been made by the other parties. Atty Perkins said that the joint sewer agreement unanim.it:y in order to change it. Minutes will still be a Board agreed that Supv Varvayanis should stop attending the meetings and the Town should stop paying for services rendered until some progress is made. Cl Grantham said that Lansing might also stop attending. Atty Perkins will prepare a resolution for the next board meeting. It was noted that there is a couple million dollars in grant funds to be used for extension of and upgrade to the system once an agreement has been reached. Cl Michaels noted that a similar structure runs the Bolton Point water supply organization and it operates very well, and he is opposed to paying the City of Ithaca to running a small organization. He would support a similar structure to the water commission. Supv Varvayanis shared with the Board a letter he received from Valcria Coggin of Tompkins County Department of Assessment regarding a clerical error made in calculation of agricultural exemption on the ambulance district levy. Affected property owners may make application for a refund of the overpayment for the past three years. Board members agree that the property owners are entitled to a refund. Board discussed various ways of making the affected property owners aware of the procedure, including placing an ad in a local newspaper and doing a mailing. Town Clerk will contact Valeria Coggin about the best .may to proceed. Page 6 of 9 TB 11-13-02 RESOLUTION #213 - ADD DELINQUENT WATER & SEWER & WATER REPAIR BILLS 0 TO 2003 TAX ROLL Cl Grantham offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby authorizes the addition of the following delinquent water, sewer and %vater repair bills to the 2003 tax roll if payment is not received by November 18, 2003: Acct No. Name Parcel Amount K3447 Cornell University 531-1 -1 $ 51.90 K4281 Guthrie 43. -1 -33.2 287.14 X4353 Reed 55. -1 -15 974.63 K5245 Nemcek 54. -2 -9 448.80 L3422 Richards 56. -5 -7 117.55 L3446 Carroll 53. -1 -7 462.56 L3452 Giordano 43. -1 -19.14 270.85 L3459 Labranche 43. -1 -19.6 124.91 L3466 Giordano 43. -1 -19.10 262.45 L3485 Tyler 43. -1 -8 504.25 L3488 Lake 56. -3 -5 138.77 L3490 Snyder 56. -3 -7 286.60 L4271 Hine 69. -2 -11 41.80 L5390 Weaver 56.4-5.31 192.20 L5951 Serog 54. -1 -9.3 135.13 100606 Conklin 37. -1 -10.2 693.73 100604/5 Sopp 38. -1 -32 661.88 $ 5,644.42 2 1ld Cl Hatfield Roll Call Vote Cl Hatfield Yes Cl Stelick Yes Supv Varvayanis Yes Cl Michaels Yes Cl Grantham Yes Supv Varvayanis said that they did not have the lire and ambulance contracts and asked the board if they would like to authorize them subject to Supv Varvayanis and Atty Perkins approval. Cl Michaels and Cl Grantham said they would like to see the contracts first. There are no public hearings scheduled for December. Meetings will be held December 4 and 11, 2002, Teri Allen of Dryden Ambulance, Inc. presented the board with their monthly reports and a proposed contract for ambulance service for next year. They did 90 calls in the month of October (45 ALS, 21 BLS), for a total of 915 calls through October 2002. Total amount collected in October was $22,837.90, total to date of $188,636.58. They are proposing that for the coming year, the money collected go directly to Dryden Ambulance, as they will be keeping the first: $150,000. Atty Perkins said that is only a proposal at this point, and he has not yet had a chance to review the proposed contract. Cl Michaels asked what other services in the area charged and T Allen said she could find that information. Page 7 of 9 T8 11 -13 -02 T Allen also provided a list of accounts that could be written. off and asked to meet with the Supervisor regarding those. RESOLUTION #214 - AUTHORIZE SUPERVISOR REGARDING WRITING OFF AMBULANCE BILLS Cl Michaels offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby authorizes the Supervisor to review the outstanding ambulance bills, make a determination as to whether they are collectible, and "write off" those that he determines cannot be collected. 2nd Cl Grantham Roll Call Vote Cl Hatfield Yes Cl Stelick Yes Supv Varvayanis Yes Cl Michaels Yes Cl . Grantham Yes T Allen asked to be added to the agenda for monthly board meetings. On motion made by Cl Grantham, seconded by Cl Michaels, and unanimously carried, the board adjourned to executive session at 9:30 to discuss two matters of possible litigation. No action was taken and the board returned to regular session at 10:00 p.m. With respect to the Quarry matter, Atty Perkins will draft a letter to be approved and signed by ZO Slater advising the o«mer /operator of the Quarry that he is in violation of the 'fon of Dryden Zoning Ordinance; that he has changed his non - conforming use i v�� n such a manner that he should have obtained approval to do it (a variance), and that he should cease and desist from that activity. Hopefully the owner will then apply for a variance. The Zoning Board of Appeals can then set conditions. With respect to the Moore subdivision matter, the Board will proceed under Town Law §268(2). RESOLUTION #215 - PROCEED REGARDING MOORE SUBDMSION Cl Grantham offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby declares that it will proceed under Town Law §268(2) to take the appropriate action against Kent: Moore and all other potential defendants regarding the unlawful offering for sale of unsubdivided lands, and against the County of Tompkins, acting through its officers, who inappropriately refiled a subdivision map. 2nd Cl Michaels Roll Call Vote Cl Hatfield Yes Cl Stelick Yes Supv Varvayanis Yes Cl Michaels Yes Cl Grantham Yes Page 8 of 9 TB I1 -13 -02 On motion made, seconded and unanimously carried, the meeting was adjourned at 10:05 P.M. Respectfully submitted, $ambi L. Hollenbeck Town Clerk Rage 9 of 9 Town of Dr wien Town Board Meeting November 13, 2002 Name - {Please Print) f ) Au J. Ll Q 2vlo -CUc(y�t Address