HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-06-14 113 6- 14- 12
• TOWN OF DRYDEN
TOWN BOARD MEETING
June 14, 2012
Present: Supervisor Mary Ann Sumner, Cl Stephen Stelick , Cl Jason
Leifer, Cl Linda Lavine , Cl Joseph Solomon
Other Town Staff: Dan Kwasnowski , Director of Planning;
Patty Millard , Deputy Town Clerk
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Supv Sumner opened the meeting at 7 : 30 p. m .
RESOLUTION # 115 (2012 ) - WATER DISTRICT CALLING PUBLIC HEARING
Supv Sumner offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption :
In the Matter
of
The Joint increase and Improvement of the ORDER
Facilities of the Water District No . 1 , Snyder Hill CALLING
Water District, Monkey Run Water District, Hall PUBLIC
41 Road Water District, Turkey Hill Water District, HEARING
and Royal Road Water Districts in the Town of
Dryden., Tompkins County, New York
WHEREAS , the Town Board of the Town of Dryden, Tompkins County, New York, in
conjunction with the Village of Lansing and the Village of Cayuga Heights, and the Towns of
Lansing and Ithaca, has determined and agreed to participate in the provision of a joint water
project for construction of a new water tank at Burdick Hill Road and construction of a new
water transmission main at North Triphammer Road and to contract joint indebtedness therefor
in accordance with Section 1 5 . 00 of the Local Finance Law pursuant an Agreement of Municipal
Cooperation for Construction , Financing and Operation of an Inter-Municipal Water Supply and
Transmission System (the "Interniunicipal Agreement") ; and
WHEREAS , the Town Board of the Town of Dryden, Tompkins County, New York, has
• had under consideration for said purpose the joint increase and improvement of the facilities of
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the Water District No . 1 , Snyder Hill Water District, Monkey Run Water District, Hall Road
Water District, Turkey Hill Water District, and Royal Road Water Districts in and for said Town,
consisting of (i) the construction of a new water tank at Burdick Hill Road; and (ii) and
construction of a new water transmission main at North Triphammer Road ; and
WI-IEREAS , a map, plan and report including an estimate of cost, relating to said joint
increase and improvement of facilities has been duly prepared ; and
WHEREAS , the maximum estimated cost to said Districts of such joint increase and
improvement is initially determined to be $76,600, it being further determined that the remaining
$ 1 ,923 ,400 of the overall $2 ,000,000 cost of this project, shall be initially apportioned and
allocated to the Villages of ilansing and Cayuga Heights and the Consolidated Water District
(including Consolidated Water District Extensions # 1 and 142) in the Town of Lansing and water
improvement areas in the Town of Ithaca and that joint indebtedness shall be issued therefor and
that the ultimate share of the cost to be allocated to the Town of Dryden pursuant to the
aforedescribed intermunicipal Agreement shall be determined on the basis of benefits received or
conferred or to be received or conferred from the aforesaid improvement; and
WHEREAS , the cost shall be annually apportioned and the amounts so apportioned shall
be annually assessed upon all the taxable real property in each such District at the same time and
in the same manner as other Town charges, in an amount sufficient to pay said principal and
interest as the same become due and payable, but if not paid from such source, all the taxable
real property within said Town shall be subject to the levy of ad valorem taxes without limitation
as to rate or amount sufficient to pay the principal of and interest on said bonds ; and
WHEREAS , said $2 ,000,000 maximum estimated cost shall be authorized to be financed
• by the joint issuance by the Town of Ithaca, with the Towns of Lansing and Dryden and the
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Village of Cayuga Heights and Lansing, of joint serial bonds with a maximum not in excess of
the forty year period prescribed by the Local Finance Law; and
WHEREAS, the aforesaid project has been determined to be an Unlisted Action pursuant
to the regulations of the New York. State Department of Environmental Conservation
promulgated pursuant to the State Environmental Quality Review Act, the implementation of
which as proposed, it has been determined will not result in any significant environmental
effects ; and
WHEREAS , it is now desired to call a public hearing on said proposed joint increase and
improvement and the map, plan and report including estimate of cost pursuant to Section 202 -b
of the Town Law; NOW, THEREFORE, BE. IT
ORDERED, by the Town Board of the Town of Dryden, Tompkins County, New York,
as follows :
Section 1 . A meeting of the Town Board of the Town of Dryden, Tompkins County.
New York, shall be held at 93 East Main Street, in Dryden, New York , in said Town, on the 12th
day of July, 2012, at 7 : 30 o ' clock p . m . , Prevailing Time, for the purpose of conducting a public
hearing on the proposed joint increase and improvement of the facilities of Water District No. 1 ,
Snyder Hill Water District, Monkey Run Water District, Hall Road Water District, Turkey Hill
Water District, and Royal Road Water Districts in said Town and the map, plan and report
including estimate of cost as described in the preambles hereof, at which time and place said
Town Board will hear all persons interested in the subject thereof concerning the same .
Section 2 . The Town Clerk is hereby authorized and directed to cause a notice of said
public hearing to be published in the official newspaper of said Town , and posted in the manner
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prescribed by law, which notice shall be in substantially the form attached hereto as Exhibit A
and hereby made a part hereof.
Section 3 . This Order shall take effect immediately .
210 CI Stelick
Roll Call Vote Cl Stelick Yes
Cl Solomon Absent
Supv Sumner Yes
Cl Leifer Absent
Cl Lavine Yes
The Order was thereupon declared duly adopted .
Cl Leifer and Cl Solomon arrived at 7 : 36 p. m .
Personnel Committee - J Case
Insurance Buyout Policy
If the policy is adopted , if a town employee opted to not participate in the insurance plan , there
would be a savings to the town . The employee would need to submit proof they are covered
under another plan . Employees now receive health insurance paid for by the town with newer
employees having to contribute 10% towards their health insurance premiums. This policy
would allow them to opt out of this coverage , receive a portion of the premiums back as an
incentive , and the town would save money in the difference between what the employee's
• incentive is and the total that would have been paid out in premiums . This will be on the
agenda next week. The proposed policy was distributed .
Part-time Insurance Change
Now the town pays 50% of individual coverage for employees who work over 20 hours. The
suggested new policy would apply to both individual and family coverage . The percentage
would be 45% to be comparable to the 90% premium coverage benefit that full-time employees
have . The language should be ready for next week's meeting.
Retirement Resolution
The Board tabled this for now. The Town Clerk has more information on the necessary
requirements for this to be fulfilled .
Varna property foreclosure
Dan handed out excerpts from the Varna plan . There is a house on the corner of Freese Road
that is in foreclosure status with Tornpldns County . If the Town is in interested in buying it in
order to improve this intersection by tearing it down , the County may decline to put it up for
auction if they knew the town is interested . It has been identified as being in the way for a
number of reasons. Removing this house would make a safer intersection - better lines of site .
It would allow the intersection to be widened and turned in to a round about traffic control
device . The back taxes owed are approximately $ 12 , 000 . The County is asking for a letter of
interest from the Town Board so that they can keep it out of the auction for now stating that
the Town is willing to enter in to negotiations to purchase this house.
RESOLUTION # 116 (2012) - Authorize Supervisor to write Letter of Interest to Tompkins
County regarding transfer of ownership of a property home in foreclosure
• Supv Sumner offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption :
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• Whereas the house located at 980 Dryden Road is effectively abandoned , and
Whereas Tompkins County is in preparation to auction said property at the end of this
month for back tax payments, and
Whereas the house has been identified as a traffic impediment, and
Whereas the house is effectively not suitable for occupancy , and
Whereas redevelopment of the property is unlikely due to the nonconforming nature of
the lot , and the road right of way infringements, and
Whereas , the Town of Dryden Planning Department has drafted a Varna Community
Development Plan that targets this house for removal ,
Now , therefore be it resolved that this Town Board hereby authorizes the Town
Supervisor to express in a letter of interest to the Tompkins County Legislature the willingness
of the Town Board to enter into negotiation with Tompkins County for the transfer of ownership
of the property at 980 Dryden Road in the Town of Dryden .
2nd Cl Solomon
Roll Call Vote Cl Stelick Yes
Cl Solomon Yes
Supv Sumner Yes
Cl Leifer Yes
• CI Lavine Yes
M lane arrived and discussed the property and the upcoming vote on this subject at the next
Legislature Meeting. The TC Planning Department backs the position that the Town should be
allowed to negotiate for the property. The TC Finance Department wants the property put in to
the auction and suggested the Town bid on the property if they are interested in acquiring it.
Supervisor Sumner said they are willing to negotiate for the property , but do not have enough
information or enough time prior to the auction, which is next week, to responsibly bid on the
property .
Clarity Connect
C Bartosch said next month would be better for an update. This topic was tabled until next
month 's agenda meeting.
Unsafe Structures - Ellen Ross
Supv Sumner has been in touch with the social worker and her supervisor assigned to this and
Code Enforcement Officer D Sprout. There is one more piece of information Supv Sumner
needs from Attorney Perkins and then she will schedule a team meeting; tentatively in 2 weeks.
The goal of that meeting is to establish a timeline for all parties involved .
Sewer/Water districts
Supv Sumner has been trying to put information together. Sewer troubles have delayed that
project. These agreements need to be updated .
Budget Goals
Next month , the Board should decide what their budget goals are for the 2013 budget in order
to communicate this information with department heads prior to requesting preliminary budget
requests that will be due the end of August.
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• I Love Dryden Video
Supv Sumner was approached by a company to produce a video for the cost of $ 19 , 000 . This is
not a project the town would be interested in paying that sum for. L Lavine has a colleague that
has a grant that may be able to produce something for the Town in conjunction with other
work he is doing.
L Lavine expressed dissatisfaction with the payments to Attorney Perkins . She feels we should
have a town attorney on staff. She would like to have a committee formed to investigate
whether the town could save money by having a staff attorney instead of paying the amount of
money in recent years. Other Board members felt the increase in attorney fees was directly
related to projects the town had been working on in recent years . Supv Sumner pointed out
that hiring a staff attorney does not just include salary . It also includes benefits, secretarial
support (salary and benefits) , office space , etc . Consultants often cost more by the hour than
staff if you only look at the salary line because consultants cover their own benefits, support
staff, and office expenses .
Public Hearings for June 21st
SUP for Grass Masters
CEAs 01 , 02 and 05
D Kwasnowski stated the Planning Department mailed about 60 packets out to landowners in
regards to the CEA public hearings . They received a few phone calls with support and
questions . There were no negative comments received from these property owners.
Next set of CEAs for review
CEAs 06- 12 will be the next batch to be reviewed by the Town Board . The final versions are on
• the web. They will be discussed next week and a public hearing will be scheduled at that time .
Pavilion reservation pricing policy amendment
There is a proposed amendment to the pavilion pricing policy to exempt other municipalities
from having to pay rental fees.
RESOLUTION # 117 (2012 ) - Approve Vouchers •
Cl Stelick offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption:
RESOLVED , that this Town Board hereby approves payment of Abstract #6 , vouchers
#460 through #588, in the amount of $ 789 ,461 . 49 .
2nd Supv Sumner
Roll Call Vote CI Stelick Yes
Cl Solomon Yes
Supv Sumner Yes
Cl Leifer Yes
Cl Lavine Yes
Dept of Ag & Markets
D Kwasnowski - The Jerry Dell Farm grant application needs an extension . This has been
extended before . The state is now requiring that certain items be completed prior to the
contract extension being granted . A copy of the letter was distributed to the Town Board . Some
of the delays have been due to the state taking months to respond to the town 's requests for
• information . The deadline for a commitment to fulfilling the items on this list was due June
150 , so Supv Sumner signed a form committing us to do this - and D Kwasnowski sent that
and a letter (a copy of which was distributed) to Ag & Markets .
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• Fracking
L Lavine will be going to Albany on Monday as a municipal representative to present ourselves
as caring about what Albany does about fracking. She has a written statement Kathleen helped
us draft. The press release given recently to the media. Someone offered to take a statement for
Supv Sumner which she will be working on tomorrow.
Adjourned at 9 pm
Respectfully submitted ,
Patricia C . Millard
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