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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-04-10TB 4-10-14 Page 1 of 5 TOWN OF DRYDEN TOWN BOARD MEETING April 10, 2014 Present: Supervisor Mary Ann Sumner, Cl Gregory Sloan, Cl Joseph Solomon, Cl Jason Leifer, Cl Linda Lavine Elected Officials: Bambi L. Avery, Town Clerk Other Town Staff: Jennifer Case, Bookkeeper Rick Young, Highway/DPW Superintendent Rick Case, Deputy DPW Superintendent Supv Sumner opened the meeting at 7:00 p.m. A member of the Varna Community Association presented a proposal for a hot spot at their building. Supv Sumner said she will put it on a future meeting agenda. RESOLUTION #66 (2014) – APPROVE ABSTRACT #4 Cl Solomon offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby approves abstract #4, vouchers #92 through #290, totaling $370,656.39. 2nd Cl Leifer Roll Call Vote Cl Sloan Yes Cl Solomon Yes Supv Sumner Yes Cl Leifer Yes Cl Lavine Yes Supv Sumner asked the board to authorize payment for the health insurance consortium bill because the bill was only recently received. RESOLUTION #67 (2014) – AUTHORIZE PAYMENT OUTSIDE THE ABSTRACT Supv Sumner offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby authorizes payment outside the abstract as follows: Lincoln Financial $542.03 and Health Insurance Consortium $55,687.35 totaling $56,229.38. 2nd Cl Sloan Roll Call Vote Cl Sloan Yes Cl Solomon Yes Supv Sumner Yes Cl Leifer Yes Cl Lavine Abstain Supv Sumner explained that some budget modifications were ne cessary, including two to account for insurance recoveries, and reviewed those with the board. TB 4-10-14 Page 2 of 5 RESOLUTION #68 (2014) – AUTHORIZE BUDGET MODIFICATIONS Cl Leifer offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby authorizes the following budget modifications: From Acct To Acct Amount A7330.4 Community Rec Contractual A7310.4 Youth Serv. Contractual 30.00 A1990.4 Contingency A8060.405 Crosstown Water 5,000.00 A8790.404 FPIG Grants A7110.412 Natural Areas 2,000.00 A1110.4 Justices Contractual A1110.2 Justices Equipment 279.99 DA2680 Misc. Insurance Recoveries 9,867.53 DA5130.4 Machinery Contractual 9,867.53 DB2680 Misc Insurance Recoveries 4,185.93 DB5110.4 Street Maint. Contractual 4,185.93 2nd Supv Sumner Roll Call Vote Cl Sloan Yes Cl Solomon Yes Supv Sumner Yes Cl Leifer Yes Cl Lavine Yes Supv Sumner received a letter from Tompkins County Assessment regarding a real property exemption for LEED certified home improvements. Improvements could be exempt from assessed value for 7 to 10 years. She shared the information with the planning board and asked them to make a recommendation to the town board about adopting an exemption for LEED certified home improvements. She will ask Jay Franklin to speak to the Planning Board about this. Joe Laquatra said LEED certification is a long complicated and expensive process for homeowners. He pointed out that BPI is a good alternative to LEED, I confirmed that BPI certification is also acceptable for the exemption. Solar panel systems are exempt under state law. The HOME grant program is available again. The town had a similar grant a few years ago and used it for safety and energy improvements to substandard housing. It was intended to fund 12 homes and we managed to stretch it to 15. It was not a lot of work because the town contracted with an administration agency. Because staff is busy with other things, Supv Sumner suggested the town hire a grant writer to do the application. The deadline to apply is the end of May. The Board agrees the town should apply and Supv Sumner will look into hiring a grant writer. Supv Sumner asked for clarification on the start time of the pay increase previously authorized for the Interim Recreation Director. RESOLUTION #69 (2014) – RETROACTIVE PAY INCREASE FOR INTERIM RECREATION DIRECTOR TB 4-10-14 Page 3 of 5 Cl Sloan offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby authorizes a pay increase for the Interim Recreation Director of $500 per month effective March 1, 2014, continuing until a new Director of Recreation is appointed. 2nd Cl Solomon Roll Call Vote Cl Sloan Yes Cl Solomon Yes Supv Sumner Yes Cl Leifer Yes Cl Lavine Yes Supv Sumner met with Recreation and Youth Commission members and narrowed down the number of applicants for Recreation Director to six who will be telephone interviewed on Monday. They will then choose four to interview in person. Supv Sumner distributed an updated organizational chart and noted that there is a 25% vacancy at town hall. She said there are things that can’t be done until one or more of these positions are filled. The Planning Dept has received a request for an amendment to the TC3 special permit. They want to move the project 100’ west of the original location to avoid having to cut down trees that would otherwise shade some of the panels. The Planning Dept finds the changes are compliant with their approval. The Board can approve the requested change as a minor change, or have another hearing. Supv Sumner recommends accepting an amendment and the board can take action next week. Supv Sumner has received a resolution from the Planning Board requesting the Town Board approve the zoning changes recommended by Planning Dept. The Conservation Board has passed a resolution alerting the Town Board to the pending sale of property on Route 13 that borders Fall Creek and contains a portion of the old railroad bed. They recommend obtaining a conservation easement on the part of the property bordering the creek to the railroad be d. Supv Sumner has not been able to determine who is purchasing the property. Supv Sumner presented a proposed local law providing for the appointment of town constables. Currently the men who provide security during court sessions are retired police officers who contract with the town. Because they are not constables, they are limited with respect to what they are able to do in the event of trouble in the court. Appointing them constables would expand their abilities making for a safer environment wh en court is in session. The board reviewed the proposed §284 Agreement with the highway superintendent. It was noted they are doing fewer miles because there is less money in the budget. Prices have gone up for oil, stone, and other materials necessary in maintaining the roads. It was noted that there is truck activity on German Cross Road again accessing the fill site there. Highway Superintendent Rick Young said he had observed them and had not noted any use of the jake brake, and there doesn’t seem to be excessive noise. The end of the road is cleaned up and the trucks don’t appear to be travelling fast. Supv Sumner said she would like to know what Mr. Whetzel anticipates for the rest of the summer. R Young said he would talk TB 4-10-14 Page 4 of 5 with him. He will also ask him to keep the dust down on the access road. The trucks are travelling slowly on the road. Supv Sumner noted this may a good instance for a road use agreement. She has met with a group of county officials interested in coordinating permit information and haul route notification. R Young said they will be working to clean up and repair German Cross Road. Rick Case said they will not be milling that road. The base will be repaired, it will be paved, and once they are done, it will accommodate the truck traffic. The §284 agreement will be on the agenda next week for approval. Victor Tiffany brought a resolution to the board and asked that it be on next week’s agenda. The resolution is asking that Congress amend the Constitution to clearly state that the inalienable rights recognized under the Constitution belong to individuals and not legal entities such as corporations, and to limit the spending of corporations and other limited - liability entities with respect to influencing the outcome of political elections. Supv Sumner said this is a noble cause, but the board has often been criticized for voicing an opinion for the town on matters over which it has no control. V Tiffany said sixteen states have passed resolutions in favor of this amendment and they are working to make New York State the seventeenth. The resolution will be on next week’s agenda. In response to a question, Supv Sumner said that Jane Nicholson has been appointed as Director of Planning. This leaves a question with respect to the planner vacancy. Cl Leifer said that J Nicholson has expressed interest in trying to get by with current staff. Supv Sumner said she thinks we’ll need a clearer direction and will be talking with J Nicholson about it, then bringing something forward. Supv Sumner noted there are some needed personnel policy updates and would like the personnel committee to take care of that. With respect to citizens privilege guidelines and rules, Supv Sumner said there have been some unpleasant interactions at meetings. She would like input from the board about whether the board would like to make suggestions. She acknowledged that there are sometimes inconsistencies with respect to time limits or when comment is allowed. The meetings are transparent, but she is not sure how well it is serving us. Cl Solomon asked what the recourse is if people refuse to abide by the guidelines. The meeting could be adjourned, or a constable could attend to remove people who abuse the privilege. Supv S umner will share what other towns use for guidelines with the board for their review and comment. Cl Leifer said the give and take with constituents is valuable and he likes the opportunity to answer simple questions when necessary. Supv Sumner said t he biggest problem lately is the expectation that citizens comment can continue throughout the meeting. It should be limited to the citizens privilege of the floor part of the meeting. Cl Sloan said he likes to hear comments from the audience but unde rstands the need to manage people’s expectations. Supv Sumner said during the business part of the meeting it can be disruptive and distracting. Some of the board is willing to stay after the meeting for discussion with constituents. Bruno Schickel said that he thinks the Supervisor does a good job, and because there is some comment allowed during the course of the evening it is to everyone’s benefit and she is to be commended for it. It is great that the board is willing to clarify something for an au dience member. The chair of the meeting has the prerogative to allow questioning or comment. He TB 4-10-14 Page 5 of 5 doesn’t think there needs to be a defined rule. It would be helpful if the audience had some of the documents to follow along. There being no further business on motion made, seconded and unanimously carried, the meeting was adjourned at 8:35 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Bambi L. Avery Town Clerk