HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-04-17TB 4-17-14
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TOWN OF DRYDEN
TOWN BOARD MEETING
April 17, 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: Mahlon Perkins, Town Attorney
Jane Nicholson, Director of Planning
Supv Sumner opened the meeting at 7:00 p.m. and board members and guests
participated in the pledge of allegiance.
PUBLIC HEARING
PROPOSED LOCAL LAW FOR
APPOINTMENT OF TOWN CONSTABLES
Supv Sumner opened the public hearing at 7:05 p.m. and dispensed with reading of the
public notice. She explained that the court security guards came to her a few months ago to
talk about the fact that they were working as independent contractors. They asked that the
town consider making them employees and the best way to do that is to establish a Constable
position. That has some relevance as to what actions they are aut horized to take and allows
the Town to assume liability for them. The Town attorney has researched the matter and
prepared the local law that has been reviewed by the board. After adoption of the local law the
security guards will have the status of Peace Officers.
David Buck (court security) explained they were concerned that as private contractors
they can’t take custody of anyone and can’t put them in handcuffs. They had to rely on a
Sheriffs Deputy. With the constable position and Peace Officer status they will now be able to
do that. Their biggest concern was for the safety of the justices and the public in attendance.
Henry Kramer asked if there were economic consequences. Supv Sumner said they
were only allowed to work within the constraints of the budget. They will be well within the
existing budget.
Atty Perkins said the powers of Peace Officer are spelled out in New York Criminal
Procedure Law §2.20. In addition, under the Uniform Justice Court Act they are also court
attendants. They are Peace Officers within Town of Dryden.
Supv Sumner it will also allow the Town to assume liability for them.
There were no questions or comments from the board and the hearing was left open at
7:10 p.m.
Supv Sumner said that public hearings are often a good idea and often required by law.
The board has agreed to add times to the agenda items and limit public comment under
Citizens Privilege to 30 minutes. Speakers will be limited to three minutes and if there are
more than 10 speakers, that part of the agenda will be continued at the end of the meeting. 3
min per speaker, more than 10 continue at end of meeting. Supv Sumner said she will make a
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greater effort to limit public comment to those periods, and will not allow public comment the
rest of meeting, except at board’s discretion.
PUBLIC HEARING
ZONING ORDINANCE AMENDMENT
Supv Sumner opened the public hearing at 7:15 p.m. and dispensed with reading of the
public notice. There were no comments from the board members. Supv Sumner said there is a
commercial property in the neighborhood being considered (the former Wern incks furniture
business) that is currently for sale. No one knew it was going to be for sale when the new
zoning was adopted. Because the town would like the property to be able to continue as a
business, a zoning adjustment is necessary.
Cl Lavine arrived at 7:20 p.m.
Jane Nicholson explained that realtors and people interested in the property had come
to the Planning Department asking what they could do with it. There were questions about
general office or retail space, which are not allowed in zone (rural residential) currently. This
caused the department to take a closer look at what was going on in the area. When the
zoning was adopted and the map created in 2012, it was done with a brush technique and
each individual parcel was not reviewed. They now believe it was not classified correctly
because of its use. At the time no thought the area would change or the business would leave .
Now, unless it is used for exactly what it was, the right goes away. Th e proposed change opens
up more opportunity and it goes to a more permissive district. Because of the creek, if
anyone were to build, there are environmental constraints. There is transportation available
and it is a high traffic area. The zoning should match uses.
Jim Crawford, owner of one of the parcels, said he is not against the rezoning. It seems
odd that the largest retail space needs to be rezoned to continue to be retail. This illustrates
that the rezoning was too fine-grained. There are three parcels in this proposal; the Werninck
property, his property, and the Blooms house. It is not clear why the house on the other side
of the road needs to be rezoned. One of his neighbors called to say the property had been sold,
but no one has been able to confirm that. J Crawford noted that received four postcards about
this in the mail and his neighbor received seven. The town could save itself some money here.
Supv Sumner said the sense of broadening the rezoning is that the other parcels are
large enough that there may be a mixed use on them someday. Because this is a more
permissive use it seems like the sensible way to go.
Supv Sumner closed the public hearing on the local law at 7:28 p.m.
RESOLUTION #70 (2014) – ADOPT LOCAL LAW NO. 1 OF 2014
TOWN CONSTABLES
Supv Sumner offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption:
RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby adopts the following local law and directs the
Town Clerk to file the same with the Secretary of State of the State of New York:
TOWN OF DRYDEN LOCAL LAW NO. 1 OF 2014
A local law providing for the appointment of Town Constables to serve as Court Attendants
1. This Local Law is adopted pursuant to authority of Municipal Home Rule Law Section
10(1)(ii)(a)(1) and Section 10(1)(ii)(d)(3).
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2. The Town Board of the Town of Dryden is hereby authorized to appoint not more than four (4)
town constables to have powers in both civil and criminal matters as court attendants and
enforcement officers for the Town of Dryden Justice Court.
3. Such constables shall be part time, non-competitive exempt employees of the Town and shall
serve at the pleasure of the Town Board. They shall be peace officers as defined in the Criminal
Procedure Law and enforcement officers as defined in the Uniform Justice Court Act.
4. Persons appointed constables pursuant to this local law need not be electors of the Town.
5. The Town Board shall fix the hours of work, wages, and terms of employment of the constables
which wages shall be in lieu of any other fees or compensation.
6. Pursuant to Municipal Home Rule Law Section 22, to the extent the provisions of this local law
are inconsistent with Town Law Sections 20 and 23, it is the intent of this local law to supersede
such sections.
7. This local law shall take effect upon filing with the Secretary of State.
2nd Cl Solomon
Roll Call Vote Cl Sloan Yes
Cl Solomon Yes
Supv Sumner Yes
Cl Leifer Yes
Cl Lavine Yes
TOWN CLERK
RESOLUTION #71 (2014) – APPROVE MINUTES
Cl Leifer offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption:
RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby adopts the meeting minutes of March 13,
2014, and March 20, 2014.
2nd Cl Sloan
Roll Call Vote Cl Sloan Yes
Cl Solomon Yes
Supv Sumner Yes
Cl Leifer Yes
Cl Lavine Yes
B Avery provided the board with a reconciliation report of the 2014 real property tax
collection for their review (attached). Supv Sumner said it reflects the incredible amount of
work that goes on in the tax receiver’s office during tax collection.
CITIZENS PRIVILEGE
Henry Kramer, 1524 Ellis Hollow Rd, read the attached statement.
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Supv Sumner said the resolution was brought to the board by a resident of the Town of
Dryden. The board discussed at last week’s meeting whether to put it on the agenda. She said
anyone can bring an item to board and ask it to be put on agenda. There will be more
discussion when it is reached on the agenda.
Supv Sumner returned to the zoning amendment matter and closed the public hearing
on 7:36 p.m.
This is an unlisted action and the board reviewed the short form SEQR on the
amendment.
RESOLUTION #72 (2013) – NEG SEQR DEC – ADOPTION OF ZONING AMENDMENTS
Cl Leifer offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption:
WHEREAS,
A. The proposed action involves consideration of the amendment of the Town of
Dryden Zoning Ordinance.
B. The proposed action is an Unlisted Action for which the Town Board of the Town
of Dryden is the lead agency for the purposes of uncoordinated environme ntal review in
connection with approval by the Town.
C. The Town Board of the Town of Dryden, in performing the lead agency function
for its independent and uncoordinated environmental review in accordance with Article 8 of the
New York State Environmental Conservation Law – the State Environmental Quality Review Act
“(SEQR), (i) thoroughly reviewed the Short Environmental Assessment Form (the “Short EAF”),
Part I, and any and all other documents prepared and submitted with respect to this proposed
action and its environmental review, (ii) thoroughly analyzed the potential relevant areas of
environmental concern to determine if the proposed action may have a significant adverse
impact on the environment, including the criteria identified in 6 NYCRR §617.7(c), and (iii)
completed the Short EAF, Part II;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED AS FOLLOWS:
1. The Town Board of the Town of Dryden, based upon (i) its thorough review of the
Short EAF, Part I, and any and all other documents prepared and submitted with respect to
this proposed action and its environmental review, (ii) its thorough review of the potential
relevant areas of environmental concern to determine if the proposed action may have a
significant adverse impact on the environment, including the criteria identified in 6 NYCRR
§617.7(c), and (iii) its completion of the Short EAF, Part II, including the findings noted thereon
(which findings are incorporated herein as if set forth at length), hereby makes a negative
determination of environmental significance (“Negative Declaration”) in accordance with SEQR
for the above referenced proposed action, and determines that neither a full Environmental
Assessment Form, nor an Environmental Impact Statement will be required, and
2. The Responsible Officer of the Town Board of the Town of Dryden is hereby
authorized and directed to complete and sign as required the determination of significance,
confirming the foregoing Negative Declaration, which fully completed and signed Short EAF and
determination of significance shall be incorporated by reference in this Resolution.
2nd Cl Solomon
Roll Call Vote Cl Sloan Yes
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Cl Solomon Yes
Supv Sumner Yes
Cl Leifer Yes
Cl Lavine Yes
RESOLUTION #73 (2014) – ADOPTION OF AN AMENDMENT
TO THE TOWN OF DRYDEN ZONING ORDINANCE
Cl Leifer offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption:
WHEREAS, the Town of Dryden adopted a zoning ordinance in 1969, which ordinance
has at various times been amended, and
WHEREAS, the town adopted a Comprehensive Plan on December 8, 2005 which
replaced the Dryden General Plan adopted in 1968, and
WHEREAS, since the adoption of the Comprehensive Plan, the town, through its
planning board, planning department and consultants, has been implementing Comprehensive
Plan suggestions and visions as well as addressing changes in the New York Town Law Article
16 (Zoning and Planning), and
WHEREAS, it sometimes becomes necessary to revise the zone designation of certain
parcels in the town to better reflect their actual historical use and to facilitate the appropriate
re-use of such parcels where the historical use has ceased or changed, and
WHEREAS, the planning department has proposed to change the zoning for three
parcels (Town of Dryden Tax Parcels: 39.-1-1; 39.-1-2; and 39.-1-3) along the New York State
Route 366 corridor to Mixed-Use Commercial, and
WHEREAS, a public hearing to consider adoption of this amendment was held on April
17, 2014,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that this town board hereby amends the Zoning
Ordinance as follows:
1. Section 401 of the Zoning Ordinance, Town of Dryden, Tompkins County,
New York, originally adopted in 1969, as amended from time to time, is
hereby further amended to read as follows:
“Section 401: Zoning Map
All land in the Town of Dryden shall fall within one of the
established zones as shown on a map entitled “Town of Dryden
Zoning Map” dated September 1, 2011 and revised March 18,
2014. The original and official Town of Dryden Zoning Map, as
revised is filed with the Town Clerk. A reduced and unofficial
copy is found in Appendix A-1”.
2. The Town Clerk is authorized and directed to publish and post notice of
adoption as required by law.
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3. The amendment shall take effect ten (10) days after publication in The
Ithaca Journal of a summary or abstract thereof (exclusive of the Zoning
Map) or from the date of service upon any person personally served with
a copy thereof as provided in New York Town Law 264(1).
2nd Cl Solomon
Roll Call Vote Cl Sloan Yes
Cl Solomon Yes
Supv Sumner Yes
Cl Leifer Yes
CITIZENS PRIVILEGE (continued)
Art Berkey, 1205 Ellis Hollow Road, asked the board to seriously consider the Varna
Community Center as a hotspot for internet access. He said he supports Henry Kramer and
his concerns and read the attached statement.
David Thompson – is concerned that the Critical Environmental Areas that were
designated and then rescinded by the town are still listed on the Department of Environmental
Conservation’s website as of 4/17/14. Supv Sumner said the information had been sent to
them and someone will follow up.
He asked about the water tower proposed for Bone Plain Road. He said he understood
there was a meeting between the town and the village and he wondered if they were connected.
Supv Sumner said Lansing is proceeding. They have acquired land to build the tower and it
will increase availability of water to Lansing properties.
D Thompson said he concerned about an agenda to create a new water district. Supv
Sumner told him there are no plans for that.
Victor Tiffany, statewide coordinator for Move to Amend, 1540 Danby Road, said the
Citizens United decision of 2010 involved an intersection of two case law traditions, corporate
personhood and the idea that political money is protected by the first amendment. These
traditions are corruptions of constitutional rights and that is why there are so many
organizations working to amend the Constitution. Over 550 municipalities and 16 states have
passed resolutions to Congress. He said the Supreme Court has increasingly taken rights first
by giving them to corporations over the last 125 years, and second, by decreeing that spending
and giving money is equivalent of speech protected by the first amendment. Money is a legal
tender, not speech. Money, not people, has become sovereign as the power that rules our
government. There is no language in the Constitution to support the equivalent between
money and speech. The same holds for the court doctrine that legal entities cr eated by the
state of any sort have rights as natural persons. Supreme Court Justices have been legislating
from the bench in an anti-democratic manner and we the people have lost democratic republic.
Instead of securing our rights the court has distorte d and misused them and consequently, has
undermined the government of, by and for the people. The Declaration of Independence makes
it clear. “To secure these rights governments are instituted among men, deriving their just
powers from consent of the governed, that whenever any form of government becomes
destructive of these ends” these ends being the securing of our rights “it is the right of the
people to alter … it”. In cases like Citizens United, Buckley and McCutcheon, the court has not
functioned to secure our rights. Instead, they have corrupted the very definition of rights.
He asked the board to consider the proposed resolution.
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Jim Skaley – 940 Dryden Rd, speaking for the proposed resolution referred to by
Tiffany. We all have rights as citizens to petition our governments. The process of going
forward needs to be considered. Corporations and some individuals have very large sums of
money that can be used to flood the media in such a way as to change the perspective of
something under debate. Citizens don’t have the same volume of voice. The board is the
people’s representatives and move things from local to state when it is appropriate, and this is
the same situation. This is a way of having a voice in moving something forward that will
benefit the citizens as a whole.
Craig Schutt – Schutt Rd, read from a Farm Bureau alert dated 4/8/14 (attached).
The proposal could mean new permits just to farm the land. The EPA has proposed new water
regulations under the Clean Water Act, that if finalized, have the potential to regulate nearly all
forms of water in New York, including water that may pond on a field after a water event, like
rain or snow melt. All waters will be federally regulated even if they are seasonal. Normal
exemptions apply only to dredge and fill projects, not normal farming activities. 56 NRCS will
need to met and are sometimes cost prohibitive to farmers. The cost to municipalities to do
road maintenance will be very costly. He asked the board to push back on these proposed
regulations.
Susan Simmons, said she was here for the Varna Community Association in the event
the board had any questions about the request to be a hotspot. On behalf of the Varna
Church, she said they have huge flooding and drainage issues, and they need to find out if they
can have access to the storm drain between the church and parsonage. She was told she
would have to contact NYS DOT and will contact Rick Young to find out who and how to
contact them.
Jim Crawford said he was not aware of the resolution to amend the Constitution of the
United States. He has spoken to the county legislature when they have done similar things.
He said it is an irony that the board wants to manage better the public comments from the
floor and yet open itself up to be the funnel for every issue that the citizenry might want to
bring to the board so that they can obtain a majority of the five votes. Petitioning is a time
honored way to try and address our elected officials, but this is not petitioning. This is asking
five representatives who have been elected based upon campaigns that had nothing to do with
altering the Constitution of the United States to act as super-citizens on behalf of the Dryden
population. It’s been said some 500 municipalities have gone on record about this particular
issue. That’s called log rolling; that’s leverage. If the board votes either way on this, it will be
cited in other municipalities as one more that has done this. That has not happened in the
Town of Dryden. You can’t make that happen in Dryden. You are five people. He said if he
were to write a citizen and the town wrote as an institution of town government, the town is
setting itself up as representatives of something that you have no idea who the town feels
about. It would seem more important than the local citizen. He said this is a fine issue, but
the board is not the place for it. If the board doesn’t want all kinds of issues funneled to the
privilege of the floor, it needs to step aside on these matte rs.
Ron Szymanski, Johnson Rd, said citizens privilege is important. It is the only way for
a large group of people in Dryden to speak to the board. There is a disconnect between a lot of
what the board is doing and the issues that are important to the residents. He recommends
more outreach to community. He wants better government and suggests the board is a little
insulated. He is asking for better debate and for the board to consider reaching out better to
the community. A number of people want them to be laser focused on bringing the reserves
away from the budget. Returning money to taxpayer is a big thing. Positions don’t need to be
filled and can help to balance the budget. He is willing to help with outreach for better
government.
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Pam Goldner, 28 Brooktondale Rd, said she supports the resolution to amend the
Constitution. She recently became involved in political organizing locally. She is seeing
situations where people aren’t treated fairly. She is helping people be aware of what is going on
with government at all levels. There are a lot of people who are apathetic. Letting your voice be
heard does make a difference. People in government want to know what people think. She
wants to see more people involved and informed and not make assumptions that big
corporations will always get their way. There are things that citizens can do to influence what
is happening in the world. A Constitutional amendment starts at the local level.
John Ruttel, 1621 Dryden Road and owner of New Vine Media, said he purchased the
company from Peter Hopper and his family. They are new business owners starting a national
level media company. They deal with clientele in networking and marketing. It is difficult in
this state with the tax burden they are experiencing. They pay close to $6500 a year in taxes.
His friend who started a business in Pennsylvania only has to pay about $1200 a year. He is
asking the board to have some kind of understanding that they will contribute to the culture in
Dryden. They will bring business and have people flying in and a lot of different influence
through many different media outlets. The last project they did has taken off on the charts in
California. So they have money that is starting to come in but they still find it hard to
understand why there is such a hefty tax burden on the land. They have incorporated under a
not-for-profit status in New York State. They do not have a 501(c)(3), but are incorporated as a
not-for-profit. He asked the board whether it affects their taxes. Supv Sumner asked him to
call her office and she would arrange to talk with the assessor about it.
J Ruttel said he understands that good government has a high standard of excellence in
everything they do, proper roles, there are functions that happen. There are specific roles that
happen in government and need to be paid for. However, there are people that are generating
wealth, working 14 hour days making sure they can pay the government, so please consider
this.
J Cipolla-Dennis, 964 West Dryden Road, said she is in favor of the resolution to move
to amend. She doesn’t have a corporation and can’t buy things she needs through our
politicians. Corporations are trying to take away the freedom of speech that the people have,
going so far as to even impose their religion. We need to be careful. She f eels protected by the
board in Dryden. She didn’t mind standing in the road on a very cold day holding their name
on a sign because she knows they protect her and her rights. She appreciates being able to
speak freely and not be restricted from freedom of speech at a town meeting. She hopes that
never happens here.
She has been going to County legislature meetings, and was cited by M Lane for saying
an officer’s name and for talking about police brutality because it made him uncomfortable.
She continued speaking until her time was up and she hopes that the board doesn’t restrict
people’s freedom of speech. The flag entitles her to say whatever she wants with respect and
no one should be able to restrict that.
J Cipolla-Dennis said she is very concerned about the people on German Cross Road.
She doesn’t want them to face the things they have been facing over the last few years. She
asked to board to see that it does not continue in whatever way it can.
She and Deborah were volunteers for the Solarize Tompkins last year. They put solar
panels on their house this year. They have a 5kw system through Solar Liberty (a lease of
$46/month with no other costs) and are generating 3 times the electricity they use and NYSEG
is paying them. That is energy independence. They don’t need a pipeline going through their
frontage.
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Supv Sumner said there were 30 or 40 solar applications this year and 30 last year.
She will get statistics on the solar panel system here and share them with the public.
COUNTY BRIEFING
Mike Lane said the County is on record as supporting similar resolution. He thanked
Mr. Tiffany and folks across the country who have been bringing this issue forward. It is
important that municipalities think about it. It is a grass roots happening and he can’t think
of another situation this strong in a long time. He thinks it is fine that the town is considering
this, whatever it decides to do.
The state budget has passed and does include a tax freeze. They don’t know yet exactly
how it will affect county, schools, towns & villages. For the first year for any municipality that
stays within its tax cap the people who pay taxes within that municipality will receive a check
at election time of the equivalent of what the savings were by staying within the tax cap. This
year is likely to be about 1.25%. Our county has to look at the cost of things that are built into
the budget. For example, they have contractual obligations with labor units of about 2% per
year. Even with consortium, health insurance rates will increase an expected 7-8%. There
may be some break in pension costs, but it won’t offset the difference if municipalities have to
stay within the cap. Many municipalities have passed local laws to exceed the cap as a matter
of course because they know if there is a mistake in the calculations and they accidentally go a
bit over the cap, they could be punished for that. Now if you pass a local law and stay within
the cap, the budget requirement is that in order for taxpayers to r eceive their checks,
municipalities must repeal that local law before end of the year.
The second year municipalities will have to demonstrate consolidated shared services.
It’s unknown far back will they look at what has been done. There are already many examples
of consolidated/centralized services in Tompkins County. M Lane will speak at the next TCCOG
meeting about this so municipalities can begin to catalog those types of things and put them
together. It looks like the county will have another unfunded state mandate to bring together
all these calculations and figures to determine whether all the municipalities in the county
have been able to have at least a 1% savings through consolidation efforts. It will be
complicated.
DEPARTMENT REPORTS
Green house gas inventory report has been moved to next month.
Planning Department – J Nicholson said the Town of Dryden has been a participant in
the Tompkins County Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan. The purpose is to reduce
future disaster damages, public expenditure, private losses, and community hazar d
vulnerability. The town and its villages did not participate in the original plan, and now needs
to participate and adopt it locally. If we do not, we may lose out on opportunities for FEMA
funding. The Planning Department will look into this further, bring more information to the
next abstract meeting, and the board can consider the resolution next month.
Supervisor Report – Supv Sumner said she has been thinking about communication
issues and the challenge of sharing information. She regularly attends Bolton Point meetings
where they are working on succession planning and reserve fund planning. TCCOG is talking
about management training for officials and haul route planning and intermunicipal
notification for road preservation and fill site reasons. She serves on the Special Joint
Committee that oversees the Ithaca Area Waste Water Treatment Facility that serves most of
the towns 7 sewer districts. They are talking about renewable energy. Recent improvements
there allow for using methane to generate more than enough electricity to run the plant. She
attends meetings of the Conservation Board, Planning Board, Fire Chiefs, the Dryden Historical
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Society (where she is on the board. In addition she met with the Dryden Village Public Safety
Committee about plans to replace antique siren. Tompkins County Solid Waste came to talk
the town becoming a second site for a food/scrap recycling and the town probably will proceed
with that plan. She spoke at TC3 biology/geology class that asked to speak about gas drilling
and fracking. She met with the County Administrator about implementing the management
training that they have been using in local municipalities. She has spent several hours with
DRYC members regarding hiring a new Recreation Director. She attended a forum on housing
affordability and the TC3 Town Gown meeting. They are excited about their new farm to bistro
program and curriculum. It brings together education, tourism and farming. She has spent
17 hours this month meeting with town board members, staff, the town attorney, town
engineer and department heads.
Supv Sumner said she has been trying to help people understand what communication
opportunities are available in town board meetings. She knows its not enough. We have had
some luck with a newsletter distributed mostly by email. It is time consuming to update web,
but those are only one-way communication. She takes a lot of appointments from residents
who want to talk about various things. She is thinking about o ther opportunities to facilitate
communication. That might mean establishing open office hours, regularly scheduled open
meetings, and travelling around to converse with the public once or twice a month. She asked
that anyone email her with thoughts.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
§284 agreement – The board has reviewed the §284 Agreement and is ready to act on it.
This is the board’s authorization to expend highway funds for road improvements.
RESOLUTION #74 (2014) – APPROVE §284 AGREEMENT
Cl Solomon offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption:
RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby approves the §284 Agreement to Spend
Highway Funds as presented.
2nd Cl Leifer
Roll Call Vote Cl Sloan Yes
Cl Solomon Yes
Supv Sumner Yes
Cl Leifer Yes
Cl Lavine Yes
The agreement was signed by board members.
NEW BUSINESS
Temporary Closure of Spring House Road – The board has been approached by a group
that is raising funds for boys and girls lacrosse programs. They are holding a 5K road race on
June____. The board has done this in the past for them. R Young said there will be fire police
and police officers on site. Cl Sloan asked that signs be posted one week in advance of the race
so that it doesn’t come as a surprise to people who regularly travel the road.
RESOLUTION #75 (2014) – CONSIDER CLOSING SPRING HOUSE ROAD FOR ROAD RACE
Supv Sumner offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption:
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WHEREAS, the Dryden boys and girls lacrosse programs are sponsoring a 5K road race
on Sunday, June 8, 2014, as a fundraiser for their teams and desire to use Spring House Road
as part of their course, and
WHEREAS, the safety of the public and its participants is best protected by a temporary
closure of the road during the road race, and
WHEREAS, Town Law section 64 (10-b) authorizes the town board to set terms and
conditions for issuance of a permit by the town superintendent of highways to hold a road race
on Spring House Road and temporarily block such road during the event, and
WHEREAS, the Village of Dryden will consider the proposed route for the road race at
their April 17, 2014 meeting, and
WHEREAS, the road, although blocked, will still be open to authorized emergency or
hazard vehicles, now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED, that a public hearing be held before the town board on May 15, 2014
at 7:00 PM for the purpose of determining the regulations and conditions of such permit, and it
is
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the town clerk post and publish a notice of such public
hearing at least five (5) days before such hearing.
2nd Cl Sloan
Roll Call Vote Cl Sloan Yes
Cl Solomon Yes
Supv Sumner Yes
Cl Leifer Yes
Cl Lavine Yes
TC3 Change in Site Plan approval - TC3 has asked the board to consider a change to
their site plan approval. The board has reviewed it and finds it sensible. The board thoroughly
reviewed the project previously in public hearing and reviewed the SEQR. This is a minor
change.
RESOLUTION #76 (2014) – APPROVE TC3 SOLAR SITE PLAN AMENDMENT
Cl Solomon offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption :
Whereas, TC3 has asked the Town Board to consider an amendment to their site plan
approval because they hadn’t considered the location of some trees that may block the sun and
they do not wish to remove the trees, and
Whereas, TC3 engineers have determined it is in the best interests of the project to be
moved 100 feet to the west and move the location of the transformer to the front of the project,
Now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby approves TC3’s application for a sit e plan
amendment.
2nd Cl Sloan
Roll Call Vote Cl Sloan Yes
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Cl Solomon Yes
Supv Sumner Yes
Cl Leifer Yes
Cl Lavine Yes
Varna Community Center hotspot – Supv Sumner said as part of Clarity Connect’s state
funding for their broadband project they agreed to establish three hotspots in town. The Varna
Community Association is an obvious choice, but not always open regular hours during the
day. The signal is accessible outside the building when they are not open. Supv Sumner
supports this choice and asked for suggestions for the other two spots. R Szymanski suggested
perhaps the fire station in Freeville. The Southworth Library has had issues Time Warner, and
Supv Sumner doesn’t know if that was resolved. The consensus is to go ahead with the Varna
Community Center site. Board members and the public can email the Supervisor with other
suggested sites.
Cl Leifer said he has talked with Chuck Bartosch about the building permit issue. He
wants the board to consider a memo he wrote a year ago about waiving the fence requirement.
C Bartosch will have to make a case for it. The board could schedule a public hearing for May.
Resolution Urging Congress to Amend the Constitution – Cl Lavine said she is in
favor of the resolution and said:
“Money is speech. Corporations are people. These statements remind me of the
language newspeak in 1984, invented by a government to keep people from understanding
anything about their authoritarian government. The right to petition our government is one of
the single most important bases of democracy as was indeed mentioned by some of the
speakers against this motion. I would think that conservatives would find this to be a very
high priority. So I find it surprising to hear that we should have no say in a matter that so
dramatically corrupts the democratic process. This is not about altering the Constitution. Not
only did the founding fathers not consider corporations to be people, but they could not have
imagined the gargantuan role played by mass media in the modern world and the money that
determines access to that media. Access to media is an ever increasing aspect of democracy.
We place our democracy in jeopardy when we don’t enable every man to have reasonable
access to voicing an opinion, whatever that opinion. It is that access that has enabled us to
thrive as a democratic model to the world. In the current media saturated environment this
access is placed in grave jeopardy by this ruling. The deluge of corporate money affects
elections at all levels--including the Town of Dryden. As elected officials who participate and
care about the process, we are in a position to take responsibility for input locally. While we
cannot tell the federal government how to act, they certainly want and need our input as
responsible democratically elected representatives. This is an issue of unique importance to
the democratic process, no matter what side of a particular issue you are on. And just so you
know, we don’t get paid by the hour. This deliberation is both priceless and cheap. I am in
favor of the motion.”
Cl Leifer would like to discuss the exact wording of the resolution. The characterization
that something like this is not happening locally is not correct. Last fall outside money was
brought into local politics. There is no law preventing that and it happened. That proves we do
have a reason to address the issue. He doesn’t think that going the Constitutional amendment
route is necessary. We can simply go to Business Corporations Law in New York and address
different ways in other states to curb the powers of corporations in that way. Requesting
Congress consider starting the process is a way to go too. That’s a process distinction.
If we were talking about amending the Corporations Law in New York, that is something
towns may want to comment on. The Farm Bureau is asking municipalities to comment on the
EPA regulations. We see this a lot. The resolution has no legal effect to force anyone to do
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anything. Inevitably someone doesn’t want the town to talk about it so they tell us it is above
our pay grade, or we don’t have enough understanding of the Constitution . Opinions of the
board aren’t shared with everyone in the town, but it is our responsibility to maybe nudge the
other branches of government into starting an important discussion. Just like commenting on
the SGEIS for gas drilling. We were told the town had no reason to speak on that issue either,
but we do. I think something little like this may get the conversation stared where it needs to
go, on both the state and federal level. Will it change anything by itself? Probably not. The
influence of money on politics is one of the things that need to be fixed. There are multiple
ways to do it. He doesn’t see any harm in doing this.
Cl Sloan said looking back on the history of the founding of the country, he doesn’t
remember the founding fathers considering corporations. If it doesn’t have a soul, how can’t it
be considered a person. He doesn’t understand how money can be considered free speech
because he always thought we had equal rights. He’s pretty sure we don’t have equal money.
He is puzzled as to why the issue has taken on such partisan lines. The only people who
should be in favor of it are billionaires. It’s a question at this point of confusing the ends and
the means. If it comes down to a Constitutional amendment that is voted by Congress and
goes to the state legislatures, it will be a long, drawn out battle given the recent court decisions
and the new influence of money, it will be a very unequal battle. We can now see that the more
people are involved in a given election, the more media is required and more money is required
to succeed in an election. It’s a sad fact. He was elected to the Town Board in what he
considers to be a reasonably free and fair election. At local level at least, politics still seems to
work. For him the role of outside money was quite good, because enough people were pretty
upset about what the outside money was doing, that the voter turnout in an off-year election
was a pleasant surprise for him. That’s why he’s here. Given the way he won his election, he
feels he has to speak up. That’s the way democracy is supposed to work. It’s pretty clear
where he stands on this.
Supv Sumner said she agrees with most of what has been said. She knows the town
board’s mandate is to protect health, safety and general welfare of the residents. A case can be
made for the Citizens United decision of the possibility of impinging on health, safety and
welfare. Given that it was brought to us by residents makes it more suitable for discussion at
least. It is a legitimate concern. The Citizens United decision is one of the most horrible things
to happen in the judicial world in her lifetime. She doesn’t understand the logic that led to the
decision. Overall she does not think a constitutional amendment is the way to address it , but
thinks it has to be addressed. The Constitution is not to be tinkered with lightly. She does not
support amending the Constitution to clarify this, but defends the board’s right to consider the
issue.
Cl Solomon said he agrees that money shouldn’t be involved in politics. He is
concerned with his elected responsibilities. He doesn’t have input from the community that he
represents to make a clear cut decision and vote.
Cl Lavine will re-write the resolution and bring it to the board for discussion next
month.
Local Law to establish traffic violations bureau – The Village of Dryden asked the
town a few months ago to approve an intermunicipal agreement authorizing a traffic violations
bureau. Atty Perkins reviewed this an d it cannot be accomplished by agreement, but requires
a local law. He has drafted a local law that would enable the court to establish a traffic
violations bureau which will accomplish the intent of the Village. They will meet with the
justices prior to introducing this proposed local law.
Water testing – The Village is researching new water sources and would like to test the
Keith Lane well and Dryden Lake well for water quality as they are both options for the Village.
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Atty Perkins has reviewed the Village’s proposal and modified it to be a temporary license for
water testing only. If the tests turn out that it makes it worthwhile for the Village to pursue
that option, then they will talk further about an easement and whatever will be involved in the
use of the water.
RESOLUTION #77 (2014) – AUTHORIZE SUPERVISOR TO SIGN AGREEMENT
Cl Leifer offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption:
RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby authorizes the Town Supervisor to execute
the Revised Memorandum of Understanding with the Village of Dryden and Temporary License,
for testing of the Keith Lane and Dryden Lake wells, subject to review by the Town Attorney.
2nd Cl Solomon
Roll Call Vote Cl Sloan Yes
Cl Solomon Yes
Supv Sumner Yes
Cl Leifer Yes
Cl Lavine Yes
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Agricultural Advisory Committee – Cl Leifer said the committee put together a draft of
some amendments to the zoning ordinance they’ve been discussing relative to concerns of NYS
Ag & Markets. They will send a draft to Ag & Markets to get their opinion. They will also need
a copy of Dan Kwasnowski’s response to Ag & Markets.
They have been working with Jane Nicholson on a grant application. There are a few
amendments to be made and it will be submitted when the state is ready to accept
applications.
The Ag committee reviewed the ag portion of the Comprehensive Plan and had some
questions. Perhaps it will be presented at the agenda meeting next month.
Personnel Committee – Supv Sumner said the committee needs to address the policy
for health insurance for elected part time officials, among other things.
There is a need to address hiring a grant writer for the HOME grants. Supv Sumner
will do this.
Finance Committee – Needs to set a date for department audits.
The board discussed a trip to view the Virgil Creek Dam.
There being no further business, on motion made, seconded and unanimously carried,
the meeting was adjourned at 9:30 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Bambi L. Avery
Town Clerk