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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-09-2002 TOWN OF GROTON MINUTES OF TOWN BOARD MEETING TUESDAY, APRIL 9, 2002, AT 7:30 PM Those present: Glenn E. Morey, Supervisor Donald F. Scheffler, Councilman Sheldon C. Clark, Councilman Duane T. Randall II, Councilman Francis Casullo, Town Attorney Absent: Ellard L. Sovocool, Councilman Also present: Colleen D. Pierson, Richard Case, George R. Senter, Sr., Liz Brennan, April Scheffler, Jeff Lewis, Norma Jayne MOVED by Councilman Randall, seconded by Councilman Scheffler, to approve the minutes of the March 12th meeting as presented. Ayes - Scheffler, Randall, Clark, Morey. General Fund Claim Numbers 83-110 of the in the amount of $10,759.20 were presented for audit. MOVED by Councilman Scheffler, seconded by Councilman Clark, to approve the General Bills for payment. Ayes - Scheffler, Randall, Clark, Morey. Highway Fund Claim Numbers 49-70 of the in the amount of $18,254.64 were presented for audit. MOVED by Councilman Clark, seconded by Councilman Scheffler, to approve the Highway Bills for payment. Ayes - Scheffler, Randall, Clark, Morey. Special Grant (HUD) Fund Claim Numbers 231-234 of the in the amount of $1,688.01 were presented for audit. MOVED by Councilman Randall, seconded by Councilman Clark, to approve the HUD bill for payment. Ayes - Scheffler, Randall, Clark, Morey. Town Board Meeting Page 2 April 9, 2002 Supervisor Morey – Privilege of the floor? April, do you want to come up and talk a little bit about DECALS now? April Scheffler, Deputy Town Clerk – DECALS essentially stands for Department of Environmental Conservation Automated Licensing System. Customers will be able to purchase licenses and deer management permits right here at our office. We will no longer have the old paper licenses or the stamps. Applications will be completely eliminated. They are going to a bar code scanner and the bar code on your driver’s license. That will automatically bring up all of your information right in to the computer. Deer management permits, or doe permits, we will issue them, but they will remain a random drawing through the Albany computer. Leftover permits will be issued as an advertised clearance sale. All licenses, back tags, carcass tags, etc., will be printed right in our office. There will no longer be any stamps. The second page gives you an example of what this will look like. Everything will be printed on this 3-inch stock. A back tag is going to be two sections. The second section here is the actual license that shows what this customer bought. The third section is an actual carcass tag. It is designed so that all of it will fold up to basically the size of a credit card and fit in a wallet. Everybody complains about those big sheets of paper. It’s also a plasticized type thing so if you fall in while your fishing or run it through the washing machine you still have something left. And I really like the idea that we’re not going to have any more stamps. Once you first put all the information in there everything will then be automatically available online. So, if you buy your fishing or hunting license here this year, you are going to have eligibility in there and if you move to Buffalo next year all they have to do is get on line and all your information is there. And again, it’s going to be the barcode scanner on your license that brings up that information. The equipment is going to include a computer, a license printer, a receipt printer and a bar code reader. DEC is providing all the equipment. We do have the option, if we want, to put the software on our existing computers. I have talked with someone who is a computer program writer and installer and sets up computers for people and she’s advised me, as was my gut feeling, that it’s not a good idea to put them on our computer. I’m worried that they’re going to put something on there and it’s going to mess up what we have. If we put it on our computer we’re totally responsible for the computer and its upkeep and anything that goes wrong with it. If it’s their software that caused the problem, we have to prove that it’s their software and that can be pretty hard. So, if it’s all on their computer, that’s all that is on their computer and they will maintain it and if anything goes wrong they come right down and take care of it. We will probably need another phone line. Initially they told us that they were going to provide the phone line. Some of the last information we got, that sounds a little bit “iffy”. I’m not sure if they are going to provide the phone line or not. DEC is going to provide the license stock, the printer ribbons and the receipt printer stock. They are going to ask us to do an electronic transfer of funds at the end of the month to pay for everything. We’re thinking we should set up another account to do this so those are the only funds in that account because they are just going to go in at a certain date and sweep the account, take what’s in there. If they make a mistake it might mess up everything for our other accounts. Foreseeable problems, we had a meeting yesterday with the Tompkins County Clerks and kind of discussed this a little bit. A lot of us are pretty uncomfortable with some of this information they are asking for in this contract. They are asking for a lot of personal information, like the Clerk’s social security number, home address, home phone number, and permission to do a credit search. Town Board Meeting Page 3 April 9, 2002 Supervisor Morey – For the Town Clerk? April Scheffler – Yes. I personally don’t feel that that is any of their business. If I was an owner of a bait shop and I wanted to issue licenses, then I could see it but for a Town Clerk it just seems out of line, especially the credit search. My personal credit is not going to have any bearing on the job here. Supervisor Morey – Does Fran have that contract. April Scheffler – I have a copy to show him. Supervisor Morey – Good. Why don’t we get a ruling on that from Fran and see what we’re going to do. Would that be Town of Groton or would it be under the Clerk’s name? April Scheffler – It appears that they want somebody responsible, somebody personally responsible for this program. And we are basically responsible anyways for the licenses. Those stamps that come, we have to count every one of them and we have to be able to account for every one of them or we have to pay for them. So, in that sense we are already responsible. It’s just the real personal information that we feel uncomfortable with, and some of the other clerks do too. Supervisor Morey – I would feel uncomfortable too. April Scheffler – Some of the other problems we foresee as possibilities is they are kind of putting us in positions of enforcement. They have told us in the past that we are going to have to turn people down for licenses if they are behind on support payments, if they have had felony charges, if they have had their gun privileges taken away from them. You know all this information is in these computers when we swipe that license through there. I don’t know how they’re going to handle that yet and I guess that’s something we’re going to find out at convention. Hopefully they will have some more information on that. But if we’re put in a position where we have to stand there and tell a hunter, I can’t give you this license because you’ve had your hunter privileges taken away or your gun privileges taken away, they’re going to get mad. And there are a lot of people out there now days who are a little bit on the edge. Also, with the deer management permits, and this is something that Bambi Hollenbeck from Dryden was saying, that we’re going to do the deer management permits but it’s still going to be a random pick. We’re going to be standing there, typing stuff in, but it’s still going to connect to Albany’s computer and randomly picked in Albany. A lot of people aren’t going to understand that. They’re going to understand that I’m standing at my computer and maybe they’ve been waiting outside two hours for me to open up because they’re going to be the first one in there to get their doe permit an they’re not going to miss out this year, but the random choice goes through and I say I can’t give you one. They are going to be upset. Whereas, if they get it in the mail they don’t have anyone to direct their anger at. They might stomp around the house and kick the dog but they don’t have a person to get mad at. I think it’s going to raise some security issues and some things that we all need to think about. That’s a situation that will probably never happen but you just don’t know anymore. Hopefully we will have some of these questions answered after the Town Clerks Conference. They are having a whole morning dedicated to just DECALS. They do have pilot programs up and running in the Albany area so we will find out how they’re running too. Town Board Meeting Page 4 April 9, 2002 Councilman Scheffler – What about Federal Duck Stamps? April Scheffler – There’s still going to be a duck stamp. Councilman Scheffler – Where do we put it? April Scheffler – Well, I didn’t copy the back side of that sheet, but it is going to print on the back side and it does say something on there, “place duck stamp and write HIP confirmation anywhere on back of back tag.” So, there will be place for it. Supervisor Morey – What kind of paper, is it like a license, like the old type of paper? April Scheffler – It’s a placticized paper. They call it Valeron stock. Supervisor Morey – So, it’s like the registration for a boat or something like that? April Scheffler – I don’t know, I’ve never seen one. Clerk Pierson – It’s weatherproof though. Supervisor Morey – Any questions? April Scheffler – It’s going to be a big project. Thank you. Norma Jayne, Tompkins County Administration – Dewey, prior to his resignation, asked me to come in and speak to you and the Village Board about the communications project that we are working on for the courts and the police to communicate between each other without having to make the phone calls that they are working on right now. What we need from you is an agreement to say that you are willing to let them share information. We do not have all the details worked out right now. We do know that we’re going to house the information on a central server at the ITS on Court Street. We do know that it’s going to be a depository of information and we do know that only the courts and the police and the DA are going to have access to these records. Those are all things that the courts and police were very adamant about so we’re maintaining the security and keeping the information between them but we need to have your approval to let them participate in that program. Supervisor Morey – You’re looking for approval right now? Ms. Jayne – Well, I sent an agreement and a letter. Supervisor Morey – To who? Ms. Jayne – To you, well to Dewey. He was supposed to bring it to you. th Supervisor Morey – All right. Dewey resigned April 5 and I haven’t seen him or talked to him since. I think two weeks before hand. Town Board Meeting Page 5 April 9, 2002 Ms. Jayne – So, you didn’t get it. I have the agreement but I don’t have the letter that’s attached to it. I can forward that to you. Supervisor Morey – Let me talk to Dewey and I will find out what’s going on. I’ll be more than happy to find out and I’ll give you a call next week. Monthly Reports: Elizabeth Brennan, Bookkeeper – We’ve got the reports. I’ve got the listings of revenues and st expenditures. I’m all caught up to date. Everything is of March 31. That’s about all I have to report. George R. Senter, Sr., Code Enforcement Officer – I’ll give you a quick run-down of what happened the last month. We had 7 building permits issued and 1 of them is for a house, 2 is for manufactured housing, 1 replacement and one is ECHO housing so that doesn’t increase our tax base a lot. I issued 4 Certificates of Occupancy and the Life Safety Inspections are current through March. Also, I have begun the Town tour for unlicensed vehicles and trash, etc., which I do in 4 or 5 different stages. It takes quite a bit of time to do that. Fifty square miles is a lot of driving. I haven’t got with Rick yet. He was going to get with Jim (Shurtleff) in relation to when they are going to have the spring cleanup. We have a question. I brought Lyle Raymond in on this part. It’s about the industrial zone on Locke Road. We have it zoned on the east side of Route 38, heading north. It stretches 5000 feet from the Locke Road back into Groton, not quite to Old Stage. We have houses out there, at least 8 houses, maybe 9. The Low Intensity Industrial District says that the intent is that it is intended that no residential development of the neighborhood be allowed in that area. It’s for industry. What that means for these houses out there, now you’ve got a pre-existing, nonconforming building. Jeff Lewis happens to have one of these. What it says for a nonconforming building is that nonconforming is not to be enlarged upon, expanded, etc. So, people out there who have these houses can’t do a whole lot with their places unless they go through Lyle Raymond and his ZBA. I only tell people the Code as I understand it. It’s not my responsibility to interpret the Code, so I called Lyle and asked Lyle for his opinion because the ZBA interprets the Code of the Town Land Use Regulations. Lyle and I have been discussing the situation in relation to that particular area and we came up with an idea that maybe the only way to get around this is to have you gentlemen look at the zoning out there and give these people who live out there some kind of relief. I don’t understand why it was zoned that way and why it’s so restrictive for the residential facilities. Jeff happened to be on the board at the time that it was approved, back in May of 1995, but I understand that Jeff didn’t know that it read the way it was intended to read. So, I think something needs to be done about that. We would have to pass a local law, right Fran? Attorney Casullo – Yes, you would have to amend the ordinance. George Senter – I think something ought to be done. I’m not sure how you want to rezone it or if you want to rezone it or what you want to do about that. Supervisor Morey – When I talked to Jeff I thought light industrial, and I think his interpretation was, that it is only for an area that light industry could come in to that area and it Town Board Meeting Page 6 April 9, 2002 had nothing to do with the residential housing there. It had nothing to do with the residential housing there, it just gave the right for a light industrial complex to come in. But as we started reading the law, we found out that it restricts housing in that area. I don’t think that was the intent when Jeff and Sheldon were on the board, that they wanted to do. So, do we have to rewrite it, amend it, or is there something very close to light industrial area that we can have development? We’re concerned about Lewbro. George Senter – It’s pretty plain and straightforward. You can’t do that. Supervisor Morey – Is there something where we can allow light industrial and residential at the same time? George Senter – I’m sure there is. We have an M2 area, but that’s restricted to 5 acre lots. There’s a way to do it, I’m sure. I’m sure that Fran’s got something better. Attorney Casullo – Unfortunately, we’d have to amend your ordinance to allow people who have nonconforming houses out there to be able to do something with them. If they want to add a deck or a porch, they should be able to, but the law says they can’t. What I can do is give George a call and see what’s the best and simplest and quickest way to do something. Supervisor Morey – I thought you were going to bring it to the Planning Board last week and see what their suggestions were too. George Senter – We needed the interpretation from Lyle. I could only get an opinion from Lyle without his whole board meeting, but at least it gets the ball rolling. Lyle looked at it and it’s a use variance. Use variances are not the easiest things in the world to get. There’s 4 or 5 steps that you have to go through and you have to do it step by step. Lyle Raymond – Of course there’s 5 members on the board and just because I’m chair doesn’t mean that this is an official announcement. I’m just giving my opinion as a citizen. The use variance, as George said, is a difficult thing to handle. We’ve had very few, in fact I don’t recall any use variance before the Zoning Board of Appeals. They’ve all been what we call area variance that have to do with too close to this, or something a little bit larger or whatever, like the ECHO housing that we just had where they wanted it a little bigger than outlined in the Code. But that’s not a use, it’s already allowed in that district. That is an application where a use is already allowed there. That’s a whole different type of category, a whole different level than dealing with a use like this where, as George indicated, and you guys can read the Code too, it categorically says that though shalt not allow any expansion whatsoever of any residential use and all this stuff in there. For the ZBA to grant a use variance we almost have to become an outlaw to go against all the rules that we were given and are supposed to follow on that. I think it would be a very difficult decision for us to have to handle. As I said there are 4 other members on the board who are going to look at this thing and it would be an extremely difficult decision for us because we haven’t had experience in handling them. As I said, use variances, they’re a whole horse of a different color. And one more item that I want to mention is that we have had impressed upon us at our various training schools that we’ve attended, and that is that there is a line here between how far the ZBA can go in granting the variance, a line between that and stepping on the floor with you guys as the Town Board. When we grant a variance we are not allowed to, in effect, rewrite the zoning ordinance. That is not our authority. That is you guys that have authority to do that. And so, when you get into this type of situation it gets to be very delicate as to how you, even if you did grant the variance, how it was worded to show that it was Town Board Meeting Page 7 April 9, 2002 not transgressing upon the authority and power of you guys as the Board in indicating what you wanted for that district and what’s in the Code. So, there are a number of things here that are very problematic and of course anyone, by law, has the right to apply for a variance, which in effect is an appeal from the denial that George has given, which he had to do. So, anyone has the right to come before us, but how we handle it from then on is going to be very difficult. Supervisor Morey – Any other questions about the procedure or zoning? Councilman Clark – Can we, can Fran get back so we can review this next week? Supervisor Morey – I doubt it. Attorney Casullo – I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. What do you want to do? Jeff Lewis – We want to put a sunroom on the back of our house. George Senter – Do you want the other people out there to sign a petition? You can do that to try to have the zoning changed. Supervisor Morey – No, the consensus of the Board, I think we have to change it because there’s some other housing out there. Isn’t that true everybody? Since we’re going to do this, it will probably take 60 days. We’ll do it as fast as we possibly can. But I can guarantee within 60 days we’ll have something done. What about ECHO housing? Are we going to do something with that? Increase the square footage? George Senter – It’s not up to me. Supervisor Morey – All right, what do you think? George Senter – I don’t think you’re going to be able to find a place that’s 750 square feet specifically. Supervisor Morey – Raise it from 750 square feet to 1000 square feet or something like that. George Senter – Give it to the Planning Board and let them address it, I guess. There was some other discussion about another property located in the M1 zone. Richard R. Case, Jr., Highway Superintendent – Was not present. Councilman Clark – We asked him last meeting about this trash, to maybe set up a date for that. Supervisor Morey – Right, what he does is work with Jim Shurtleff in the Village and they identify a weekend and it’s either the first of May and we advertise it in the Shopper. We will be doing that. It’s been done so many times that it’s second nature. Colleen D. Pierson, Town Clerk/Tax Collector – Presented her Town Clerk and Tax Collector reports for the month of March. Town Board Meeting Page 8 April 9, 2002 The Elm Tree Inn has applied for a liquor license again and they have requested a consensus of the Board as to whether you approve or disapprove. (Consensus of the Board was that they approved.) Another thing is that I think I gave you a copy of the invoices where we billed the Fingerlakes Aquiculture. Did you ever get any money ? Supervisor Morey – No. Clerk Pierson – I don’t know where to go from here since we have to do the billing instead of the County. Supervisor Morey – Did you call them at all? Clerk Pierson – No, I haven’t called them. Supervisor Morey – Did you send them a bill? Clerk Pierson – I sent them two, two different times. Supervisor Morey – Get me a copy of that and I’ll call them myself. Clerk Pierson – Okay. One’s $217.43, that’s for 2001. 2002 is $2,934.58. Councilman Clark - What’s that for? Supervisor Morey – It’s payment in lieu of taxes. Councilman Clark – Gee, they ought to pay that. Arland Heffron and Arthur Dawson, Town Justices – Submitted their monthly report for the Board’s review. Councilman Scheffler, Recreation Coordinator – We’re moving along fairly smoothly. Cristy is working on projects for the summer for kids at the park. She also has the summer concert series pretty well lined up. She has a couple other things she’d like to get done. She’s been shadowing Steve Colton some in Lansing, trying to do that a little bit more. And she’s trying to get settled into her office. That’s the only real problem we’ve had so far, is office space at the school. I talked to the school last night and they seem receptive to doing something. So, we’re gaining. Supervisor Morey – And you went to the school board meeting last night to request……… Councilman Scheffler – To request that they move some shelves and get us some room and a computer line. Nancy Thane said we’re going to do it. I don’t know if it will happen but we’ll see what happens. I know they’re busy over there but things will start happening now, I think. She is working on a press release that’s she’s going to put out. She’s very qualified for it, so we let her do it. The problem right now is there’s no phone in her office. She has to run upstairs to use the phone and find an empty computer to do internet. Town Board Meeting Page 9 April 9, 2002 Supervisor Morey – The computer is on order and the phone line is coming. Councilman Scheffler – We’re working on it and our communication will get better. Councilman Randall, Emergency Preparedness – Actually, I just completed another training. It’s a command system training at the end of March. It’s the 200 level. I just completed an intro to disaster with the Red Cross and I’m signed up for public information officer training the end of April and also a volunteer resources training in mid-April. I met with the Red Cross today to fill in those pieces to the plan. Also have a meeting with Bucky tomorrow and Maureen Goodwin next week. So, I’m trying to bring in all the pieces of the puzzle into one comprehensive document. Getting there. Supervisor Morey – A lot of work. Do we also know when we can expect it? End of May? Councilman Randall – Yes, that would be my goal, definitely. Supervisor Morey – Tyke also is the winner of a scholarship to attend a Public Entity Risk thth Institute Conference in San Antonio, Texas on May 14 thru the 17. The conference brings together risk managers from small municipalities, both the profit and nonprofit business sector, and the school system to a round-table forum to share their ideas and experience in an effort to effectively deal with risk issues facing them on a daily basis. Most of the time spent at the conference is devoted to educational seminars broaching subjects such as mutual aid agreements, managing catastrophe losses, loss prevention and what you can do before a disaster that can help you after. He’s also requested that we subsidize this scholarship with $600. RESOLUTION #44 – SUBSIDIZE SCHOLARSHIP AWARD TO COUNCILMAN RANDALL MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Clark Ayes - Scheffler, Clark, Morey Abstain – Randall RESOLVED , that the Town Board does hereby authorize a subsidy of $600.00 to the scholarship awarded to Councilman Duane T. Randall, II to attend the Public Entity Risk Institute Conference in San Antonio, Texas on May 14-16, 2002. Supervisor Morey – We attended the MS program in Ithaca and everybody showed up. It was very good. I think we’re ahead of the rest of the County but they’re catching up fast. So, this is very good. Moving on to the resolution on the Groton Historical Society contract. We’re going to table this until next Tuesday because there’s some insurance issues that came up. So, we’ll table that until next Tuesday. Town Board Meeting Page 10 April 9, 2002 RESOLUTION #45 – PROCLAIM APRIL AS FAIR HOUSING MONTH MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Scheffler Ayes - Scheffler, Randall, Clark, Morey WHEREAS , in accordance with the Title VIII Fair Housing Policy of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 and the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988 and, WHEREAS, the Month of April 2002 has been designated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office as Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity as Fair Housing Month, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town Board of the Town of Groton hereby declares and proclaims April as Fair Housing Month in the Town of Groton. Supervisor Morey – Also, I want to point out to review the M&T Investment group policies. That’s for securities. Also, the Board of Representatives has been making a systematic review of the County Charter. We have spent a considerable amount of time reviewing Section 2.04 of the Charter which has to do with the appointment to fill vacancies on the Board of Representatives, which occur from time to time. Basically what happens is if the County Board has a vacancy, we would have to get together with Dryden and Lansing Boards to vote who would take over for the Town representative for the County. What the proposal is that they would have a special election paid by the County and I’d like to write a letter to the chairman, which is Michael Lane, in favor of this proposal. Everybody’s had a copy of this proposal to read and think about it. Any discussion? Councilman Scheffler – The way I understand it, it gives Lansing and Dryden an awful lot of weight on deciding who the rep is. Supervisor Morey - Only if they go through the existing law. If you go through the existing law we’d have a third of the vote, but we’d have 80% of the population represented. But we’d only have 33%of the vote for it. So, what we’d have to do is the Town of Lansing, Town of Dryden, Town of Groton would have to vote, everybody having one vote for a new representative. So, this way the County is trying to have a special election to get the representative. Did you get this? Councilman Scheffler – Yes, but I didn’t understand it. Clerk Pierson – It’s only for those people who are in that district in Dryden so it would be very few people. Councilman Scheffler – So, the people would vote. Okay. Supervisor Morey – Only the people within the district. So, I would like to send a letter in favor of this. (Consensus of the Board was that they were in agreement.) Town Board Meeting Page 11 April 9, 2002 Supervisor Morey – I have a resignation to read. March 19, 2002. This is directed to the Town Clerk. Ms. Colleen Pierson, “Please be advised that pursuant to Section 31 of the Public Officers Law of the State of New York, I hereby submit my resignation from the office of Groton Town Justice, effective April 5, 2002. Sincerely, A.D. Dawson.” Fran would you like to explain the procedure? Attorney Casullo – This is my understanding. Colleen, jump in if you feel you have a different viewpoint. The letter of resignation is to be filed with the Town Clerk. It is my understanding that the Town Clerk notifies the State Board of Elections, the County Board of Elections, and the Office of Court Administration within 3 days of the effective date of resignation. Have you done that? Clerk Pierson – I’ve all ready done that. th Attorney Casullo – His resignation said April 5 so we’re well within the 90-day limit. It is my understanding that the Town Board has the power to appoint someone who would serve as Town Justice until December 31, 2002, the end of this year. There is going to have to be a special election held in November for a new 4-year term. Unlike some other jobs, because the Town Justice is of a Constitutional nature, you don’t run for the unexpired term, you get a new 4-year term. So, you’ve already sent the proper notice to everybody, we’re now at the stage where you have the right to appoint somebody. RESOLUTION #46 – ACCEPT RESIGNATION OF A.D. DAWSON MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Scheffler Ayes - Scheffler, Randall, Clark, Morey RESOLVED, that the Town Board does hereby accept the resignation of Arthur D. Dawson, Town Justice. RESOLUTION #47 – APPOINT ALTON ALEXANDER AS TOWN JUSTICE MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Clark Ayes - Scheffler, Randall, Clark, Morey WHEREAS a vacancy exists in the Office of the Town Justice due to the resignation of Arthur Dawson effective April 5, 2002; BE IT RESOLVED , that the Town Board of the Town of Groton, County of Tompkins, State of New York does hereby appoint Alton Alexander to the position of Town Justice for the Town of Groton for a term which will expire December 31, 2002. Town Board Meeting Page 12 April 9, 2002 Supervisor Morey – I’d just like to thank Dewey for his tenure and we wish him the best in his future endeavors. Attorney Casullo – I think now that we’ve appointed Alton Alexander, I think we have to notify the office of Court Administration. th Supervisor Morey – That’s what I’m going to do tomorrow. What I did on March 27, I wrote a letter to ….(skip in tape)….for special permission for him to attend the schooling, certified thth classes in April. They started the 5 and 6 and Alton did go up there. Tomorrow I’ve got a letter written to Marietta again requesting a temporary certification for Alton to serve. Some more discussion took place on all the proper agencies to be notified. Clerk Pierson asked if Mr. Alexander would be on the ballot in the fall. Supervisor Morey said that he would not seek election in November. Supervisor Morey – Dated March 21, 2002, The Honorable Randy A. Daniels, New York State Department of State, “ Dear Sir: This is to advise you that pursuant to Public Officers Law, Section 31 (1k) that I hereby submit my resignation from the office of the Groton Town Clerk, effective April 10, 2002. Sincerely, Colleen D. Pierson, Town Clerk”, with a carbon copy to Glenn Morey, Supervisor. Would you like to read the procedures, Fran? Attorney Casullo – Yes, the Town Clerk obviously can’t give notice to herself that she has resigned, so she gives notice to the Secretary of State of the State of New York. It is my understanding that within 3 days of the occurrence of the vacancy we are supposed to notify the County and State Board of Elections as well as the County Clerk that a vacancy exists. Clerk Pierson – I notified the County Board of Elections. They had to have it for vacancies on the ballot. Attorney Casullo – So, that’s step number one. The Town Board can appoint a new Town st Clerk to serve until December 31 of this year. Again, you’re going to have to have a special election and at that election, unlike the Town Justice, it’s only going to be for the unexpired portion of your term. So, it will only be one more year and then they will have to run again. It will only be for one year. Once the Town appoints a Town Clerk we have 5 days to notify the State Comptroller and the Tompkins County Clerk. Then when you appoint somebody, you have 5 days to notify the County Clerk and State Comptroller’s Office that you’ve appointed somebody. RESOLUTION #48 – ACCEPT RESIGNATION OF COLLEEN D. PIERSON MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Clark Ayes - Scheffler, Randall, Clark, Morey RESOLVED , that the Town Board does hereby accept the resignation of Colleen D. Pierson from the Office of Town Clerk. Town Board Meeting Page 13 April 9, 2002 Supervisor Morey – Colleen, final words? Clerk Pierson – Well, I certainly enjoyed working with everyone here. The people in the office have been wonderful. The public treated me very well and I always tried to treat everyone fair. That’s part of it. I will miss everybody. My grandson told me this morning, Grandma, you’re going to get up and get dressed and you’re going to walk right into work. That’s where I’ve always gone for 25 years, to work. So, that will be a switch for me. I’ve enjoyed it. Supervisor Morey – I’ve got a couple of things to say. It’s with a lot of deep regret that we have to accept this resignation but, Colleen, you really deserve a great retirement. When a person gets involved in a community, they want to give something back to the community. But when that person takes on the election process, the community service becomes a passion, to make this community a better place to live for everyone. Colleen has served our community for over 25 years with integrity, honesty and professionalism. She’s the first person you see for things like a marriage license, a dog license, taxes, and serves as the first step in genealogy studies for the Town of Groton. We may find someone to fill this position but we will never find a replacement for this wonderful lady. The Town Board and the community appreciate your service and want to thank you. Congratulations on your well deserved retirement, best of luck, and God bless. Councilman Scheffler – Webster’s Dictionary defines public servant as a government official or employee. I didn’t feel that was an apt definition, so I went next to public service and found that defined as a service rendered in the public interest and that better describes Colleen’s career as Town Clerk for Groton. Colleen has always gone above and beyond the call of duty to provide the best service possible for our community. Your attention to detail, professionalism, and commitment to the people of our Town has made our community a better place. The services you provided for so many years have truly been in the public’s best interest. I sincerely wish you the best of luck and happiness in your retirement. Clerk Pierson - Thank you, Don, and I’ve enjoyed having you around here. Councilman Randall – I just wanted to thank you. I’ve known you my whole life, for good and for bad, I guess. I just appreciate that any time I had questions, concerns, needed answers, you were always there to fill in those blanks for me and I appreciate that. You are the epitome of what a Town Clerk is and I appreciate that. Councilman Clark – Well, Colleen, I guess I’m the newest guy on the block and haven’t worked with you in this aspect too long and I just jotted down a few things that I was thinking. Colleen is a person who has worked hard all her life growing up on a family farm in West Groton, learning good work ethics at an early age. Now it is time for you to relax, Colleen, enjoy your well earned retirement, take time for your family, and maybe even have some new adventures. Hey, maybe it’s even time to get back on a Harley. I wish you the best. Clerk Pierson – Thank you. Town Board Meeting Page 14 April 9, 2002 Announcements: th GBA Spring Banquet, April 13 at Groton Fire Station, 6-12 PM Dryden Central School response to the Town’s letter and request for representation from Town on committee deciding closing and use of schools Power Generator – Estimate higher than we thought. Talking with Village Diversified meeting with Thomas Sims – rescheduled th Farmers Market Meeting, April 16 – attempting to attract local farmers Thank you note from Tyke Randall – concerning support of John Anderson project McLean Community Committee Minutes Tax Exemptions – Meetings will be set for discussion Indemnification – Review proposed law and Resolution #32 of 1985 SPCA Report Next Board Meeting will be Tuesday, May 14, 2002 at 7:30 PM. th Interview process for Town Clerk, Monday, April 15 Councilman Scheffler moved to adjourn the meeting until April 15, 2002 at 7:00 PM, seconded by Councilman Clark, at 9:00 PM. Unanimous. April L. Scheffler For Colleen D. Pierson Town Clerk