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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-03-13TB 3-13-14 Page 1 of 4 TOWN OF DRYDEN TOWN BOARD MEETING March 13, 2014 Present: Supervisor Mary Ann Sumner, Cl Gregory Sloan, Cl Jason Leifer, Cl Linda Lavine Absent: Cl Joseph Solomon Elected Officials: Bambi L. Avery, Town Clerk Other Town Staff: Jane Nicholson, Interim Planning Director Supv Sumner called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. RESOLUTION #46 (2014) – APPROVE ABSTRACT #3 Supv Sumner offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby approves Abstract #3, as audited, general vouchers #115 through #191 ($281,546.96, CD voucher #253 ($250.00), and TA voucher #5 ($2,650.49), totaling $284,447.45. 2nd Cl Leifer Roll Call Vote Cl Sloan Yes Supv Sumner Yes Cl Leifer Yes Cl Lavine Yes Bruno Schickel said he fundamentally has no problem with Cornell Plantations acquiring the Semmler land. He does have a problem with the Town spending money for it. He visited the site and the land the Plantations currently owns and didn’t see any signage, trails, parking or evidence that the public is welcome. On their website it says it is not open to the public. It is an exclusive area only open with permission. He asked how we justify paying for land not open to the public. He asked what happens if land isn’t sold. No one can build there or do agriculture there. It is too wet and the land will remain as it is. The Town isn’t changing outcome. He asked what happens if the town doesn’t give $4,000, and w ill that make a difference. The Town is not wealthy or a charity. He believes Cornell will still buy that land whether the Town gives money or not. He suggested the Town not give the money. Supv Sumner said her value system and Bruno’s are different. Cornell would purchase property whether the Town contributed or not, and she is grateful that they take responsibility to protect what is a very valuable piece of property for its own sake. She thinks it is the Town’s responsibility to do its share out of respect for what Cor nell is doing and because it is the Town’s responsibility to protect things as valuable as that. G Sloan said he has concerns with money. B Schickel’s comments contradict directly what was presented to the board. Perhaps the Town should use its contribution as leverage. If they said this land is open to the public, it needs to be advertised as open to the public. Supv Sumner said she perceived it as preserving it for its own sake. G Sloan stated there are a lot of privately owned acres in the Town and in the end it is up to the landholder to make those decisions. The Town can’t do that for all the land in questions. TB 3-13-14 Page 2 of 4 Supv Sumner said the Town has developed guidelines for acquiring and preserving open space. The town should preserve it for its own sake. Cl Lavine said the board should get answers to these questions that were raised. It was noted that too much use of the area could damage the very thing that is being protected. There will be a resolution authorizing a $4,000 donation toward the purchase of this property at next week’s meeting. In the meantime, Cl Lavine will talk with Todd Bittner about the questions raised. Supv Sumner noted she had identified $2,000 in the farmland protection budget line which will not be used this year that can be applied this year. The other $2,000 will be budgeted for next year. Supv Sumner said the board should consider compensating Judge Clauson for the extra work he’s had due to Judge Valentinelli’s resignation. After discussion, Supv Sumner recommended authorizing the amount of $600 for the month of March. There will be a resolution on next week’s agenda. With respect to filling the vacant Justice position, Supv Sumner, Cl Leifer and Kelly Damm interviewed the four people who had expressed interest. Kelly Damm explained the committee conducted four interviews over two nights, and recommend Jules Ravo for the position. He is an attorney residing in Town of Dryden. Because he is an attorney, he will not have to take the Justice training prior to taking the bench. He also has the ability to respond quickly to arraignments, and expressed a commitment to run for the position in the fall, possibly making for fewer transitions. After the board has approved the appointment, someone will need to notify the Office of Court Administration and get Judge Mulvey’s permission. RESOLUTION #47 (2014) – APPOINT JULES RAVO TO FILL JUSTICE VACANCY Supv Sumner offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby appoints Jules Ravo to serve as Town Justice for a term ending December 31, 2014, and authorizes Kelly Damm to prepare the necessary documents for the Office of Court Administration for approval. 2nd Cl Leifer Roll Call Vote Cl Sloan Yes Supv Sumner Yes Cl Lavine Yes Cl Leifer Yes Jane Nicholson explained that there is a developer interested in a property that is not clearly zoned for the intended use. They can’t talk about the specific project until an application has been received. The area is located on Route 366 between Freeville and Etna, around the Werninck’s building. J Nicholson explained they had looked at the area to see if it really fits what it is zoned for and are recommending a mixed use zone. A zoning change will be introduced at the next meeting and a public hearing scheduled for April. Craig Anderson would like the Planning Board to take a look at the proposal. Bruno Schickel suggested a larger area, and the possibility of including a residential property in the center of the proposed area that is currently not being considered . TB 3-13-14 Page 3 of 4 TC3 Solar project – J Nicholson said she has received the site plan and the stormwater management report from TG Miller. The Planning Department has completed its review and has recommended actions and conditions. The application is complete and thorough. Craig Anderson (Planning Board), Evan Carpenter (Ag Committee) and J Nicholson had a conference call with the project’s engineering team to discuss the possibility of co-use of the site (for grazing, plantings or other agricultural uses). She thinks the board should encourage the applicant to think about it because it is in an agricultural zone. They discussed whether it was possible with the design. With the TC3 Farm coming in on the adjacent parcel, it might be beneficial. They will be having a discussion with TC3 about this. Draft NYS Energy Plan comments – The Tompkins County legislature has forwarded a Resolution with their comments about the plan. A resident would like the board to comment similarly. Supv Sumner said she has not read the plan and doesn’t feel qualified to comment. County Administrator Joe Mareane has done some excellent work educating local officials on the implications of the Governor’s tax freeze proposal. Many TCCOG members have joined forces. Supv Sumner plans to write a letter. She will put together information for board members. She received a call from the Governor’s Office asking her opinion. She finds the Governor’s proposal frustrating in the extreme. Everyone believes that property taxes are too high, but she said the problem rests largely with school districts, not municipalities. Mareane said if the state took back its unfunded mandates and funded them with income tax, then property tax would not be too high. Local elected officials are putting forth alternatives for addressing state and local budget issues. Land swap and DRYC recommendation - There have been discussions with Bernie Cornelius about a land swap for his residential development. It would provide alternate access to the residential development in exchange for a piece of land that could be adjoined to the area for park development. DRYC passed a resolution urging the board to proceed with the land swap agreement and to make a commitment to developing the town property for recreational use. They will be looking at options for the town moving forward. Recreation Director – The position has been posted and extended the posting to the State Parks & Rec agency, Ithaca College, SUNY Cortland, and TC3. The deadline was extended to the end of March. There are seven applications to date. Andrew Pierce is filling the responsibilities of director. He has not been appointed Interim Director, and Supv Sumner will probably ask the board to do that next meeting . Cl Lavine reminded the board that it needs to look at the amount paid by the town for health insurance for the employees. The DRYC will review applications for Recreation Director and will select three candidates for interview in early April. Supv Sumner hopes to hire by the end of April. Supv Sumner suggests a salary, depending on experience, in neighborhood of $46,000 to start. She is recommending a small increase in the Rec Coordinator salary, which is very low. This can be done with savings in the budget and there will be a net budget reduction. Supv Sumner said there is a need to have Andrew Pierce appointed as Interim Director of Recreation. She recommends a small salary increase for the time that he serves as Interim Director. Supv Sumner announced there is another vacancy in the Planning Department. Josh Bogdan, GIS Technician, has given his notice and will be done March 21. This position has been under a great deal of scrutiny. At last week’s C onservation Board meeting they passed a resolution urging the Town Board to maintain and secure a position that provides GIS and information tech services for the Town of Dryden, stating that if it is financially and politically TB 3-13-14 Page 4 of 4 beneficial for the town to partner with other municipalities to provide fee -based GIS services without diminishing the town needs, the Conservation Board encourages the board to ex plore that possibility. The Conservation Board at its meeting discussed in detail the advantage of having had that service for these past years. It was noted that most planners are now familiar with GIS and able to operate the software. J Nicholson stated she is familiar, but may need some refresher. Supv Sumner said it has been a struggle with one vacancy in the Planning Department and now there are two. With J Nicholson functioning as Director, they aren’t doing a lot of planning. The board should decide how to proceed with filling the Planning Director position. Should they conduct a search or promote from within? Two board members could review the situation and make a recommendation at next abstract meeting. The director position was eliminated from budget. J Nicholson believes the board should look internally first and that some people’s talents are being underutilized. She isn’t certain that they would be better off with an additional person. There could be some room in the four positions that they have to maximize the potential. B Schickel thinks that four people in the department is about right, when analyzed and compared to other towns. He said it calls into question whether you need someone administering two code officials. He suggests the board look at J Nicholson being the planner. He doesn’t believe a director is necessary. Kevin Ezell is capable of being code official and overseeing the code side of it. There can be a shared responsibility on some things, and having a shared secretary or clerk seems totally appropriate. Jane’s suggestion to optimize the staff and see how it goes is a very smart way to proceed. Cl Leifer and Cl Solomon will meet with J Nicholson to discuss options and report to the board. Salary restoration for the position of Director of Planning is another issue. Supv Sumner asked the board to review the job descriptions and resolution that created the Planning Department. She said there are projects they are not able to work on because they are shorthanded. The problem with planning is that the effect doesn’t show for five or ten years. Some of the positive things happening in Dryden now are because we shifted to this planning direction five to eight years ago. If we continue to cripple the department, we will see the effect ten years from now. Both the Conservation Board and Planning Board have asked the Town Board to move with due haste. There being no further business, on motion made, seconded and unanimously carried, the meeting was adjourned 8:52 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Bambi L. Avery Town Clerk