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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-08-2004 TOWN OF GROTON – MINUTES OF TOWN BOARD MEETING TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 2004 - 7:30 PM AT THE TOWN HALL, 101 CONGER BOULEVARD Those present: Glenn E. Morey, Supervisor Ellard L. Sovocool, Councilman Donald F. Scheffler, Councilman Sheldon C. Clark, Councilman Victoria Monty, Attorney for the Town Absent: Richard B. Gamel, Councilman Also present: Richard Case, George Senter, Liz Brennan, April Scheffler, John Norman, A.D. Dawson, Kim Reilly, Rebekah Reilly, Tena McClary, Mark Baxendell, Frank Satterly MOVED by Councilman Sovocool, seconded by Councilman Scheffler, to approve the minutes th of the May 11 meeting as presented. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Clark, Morey. General Fund Claim Numbers 142-168 of the in the amount of $24,911.44 were presented for audit. MOVED by Councilman Scheffler, seconded by Councilman Clark, to approve the General Bills for payment with the addition of Claim Number 169 to Kirby, Beals, Maier, PLLC, in the amount of $1,000.00 for audit of 2003 Community Development Grant Funds, making the total approved funds to be $25,911.44 Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Clark, Morey. Highway Fund Claim Numbers 102-121 of the in the amount of $121,079.39 were presented for audit. MOVED by Councilman Sovocool, seconded by Councilman Clark, to approve the Highway Bills for payment. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Clark, Morey. Special Grant (HUD) Fund Claim Numbers 343-348 of the in the amount of $23,571.37 were presented for audit. MOVED by Councilman Scheffler, seconded by Councilman Sovocool, to approve the HUD bills for payment. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Clark, Morey. Town Board Minutes Page 2 June 8, 2004 Privilege of the Floor: th Kim Reilly was at the meeting to discuss the Pizza Fun Day scheduled for September 18 at the Town Building. Ms. Reilly said that they had a freestyle dough tosser coming to perform, an original New Orleans trolley that will be giving free rides, music at the gazebo, pizza contests, a silent auction, vendors, prizes and food. The event will benefit the Veterans Memorial Park on Sykes Street. Councilman Scheffler spoke about Gad-a-Bout and a call he had from someone saying that there was no service. He had called Gad-a-Bout and was told there was no local service. The people who were doing it locally are not doing it anymore. People now have to call Ithaca and make an appointment two days in advance and they will not take people to destinations outside Tompkins County. Supervisor Morey will look into the situation and see what he can find out. Monthly Reports: Elizabeth Brennan, Bookkeeper/Highway Clerk – Submitted her monthly report for the Board’s review and asked for a transfer. The only other thing that I have is that we are coming to an end of HUD Grant #4 and Better Housing has changed some of the original budgeted figures where they need more money in program development than they did in administration. So, they’ve moved some of their figures around and I think it would be a good idea if we passed a resolution confirming what they are doing. RESOLUTION #65 – 2004 BUDGET TRANSFER MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Scheffler Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Clark, Morey RESOLVED, that the Town Board does hereby approve the following 2004 budget transfers: General Fund – Part Town: From: Contingency B1990.4……………………… $500.00 To: Skate Park, Contractual B7140.41………… 500.00 RESOLUTION #66 – CONFIRM BUDGET CHANGES TO COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CONSTRUCTION REHAB GRANT #4 MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Sovocool Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Clark, Morey RESOLVED, that the Town Board does hereby confirm the following budget changes to the Community Development Construction Rehab Grand #4: Town Board Minutes Page 3 June 8, 2004 Administration: From: $30,000 ($18,000 Better Housing & $12,000 Town of Groton) To: $25,196 ($18,596 Better Housing & $6,660 Town of Groton) Program Delivery: From: $40,000 To: $44,804 Construction will remain the same at $330,000. Richard C. Case, Jr., Highway Superintendent – The shop is engaged in repairs. The new trucks are in. One is up at Viking in Harrisville, NY and the other is at Stadium in Binghamton. Rick Satterly and I went up and looked at the one in Harrisville. He’s going to be the primary operator so they were fitting the controls and went through the installation with us. I want to thank the Board for participating in the 2004 highway tour. Some of the things we looked at have already been completed. Shoulder and pipe damage from the rain that we’ve had has been addressed and will continue. The gravel bank reclamation continues when weather allows. NYS Electric & Gas has mapped out the position of pole relocations and the berm from the north side of Spring Street has been removed and graded into the back slope. Craig Scutt from Soil & Water Conservation has been up and inspected what the DEC had previously approved for seeding. Every time we get it ready, it rains …….but he doesn’t see any problem and we are st tentatively scheduled to do that seeding the week of June 21. The clean-up day sponsored by the Town and Village Boards went well. The Town Highway Crew and the Village DPW Crew did an outstanding job. Champlin Road from Stevens Road to Elm Street Extension and Hart Drive from Stevens Road to Davis Road have been paved with both base and the final blacktop courses. The Town of Locke, Town of Dryden, Town of Caroline and the Groton Village DPW has my thanks for supplying manpower and trucks. Last week we had the opportunity to borrow the Town of Cortlandville’s shoulder machine, which allowed us to finish the shoulders on this project. The Town of Cortlandville has my thanks. So, that project is about 95% done. Roadside mowing has started for the summer. I’d like to ask for a resolution to hire Stan Woolever for the position of custodian/maintenance worker. Supervisor Morey – Any questions for Rick? If not, I have a couple. You’ve contacted DEC and let them know your progress? Richard Case – I did not call the DEC Supervisor Morey – Is the water out yet? Richard Case – No. Supervisor Morey said that the reclamation project looked great and Mr. Case indicated that it was nearing completion and they were trying to remove the silt so that the water would seep into the ground. Town Board Minutes Page 4 June 8, 2004 RESOLUTION #67 – HIRE STAN WOOLEVER AS CUSTODIAN/MAINTENANCE WORKER MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Scheffler Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Clark, Morey RESOLVED, that the Town Board does hereby approve the appointment of Stan Woolever as Custodian/Maintenance Worker at the rate of $9.00 per hour effective June 4, 2004. April L. Scheffler, Town Clerk/Tax Collector – Submitted her monthly Town Clerk’s report and final Tax Collector report for the year. Victoria Monty, Attorney for the Town – Had nothing to report. RESOLUTION # 68 – INITIATE FORECLOSURE PROCEEDURES AGAINST DIVERSIFIED MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Sovocool Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Clark, Morey RESOLVED, that the Town Board does hereby instruct the Attorney for the Town, Victoria Monty, to initiate foreclosure procedures against Diversified T.E.S.T. Technologies, Inc. Councilman Donald Scheffler, as Recreation Coordinator – Our summer programs are set. Our brochures are out. On the back is a tear-off for the concerts and pool schedules. We have a pretty full summer. The only question we have now is the school budget. If it fails the school has informed us that they are going to charge us for everything that’s done on school property for the next year. They maintain they have to, even people walking on the track. It’s going to be a nightmare because they can only charge actual expenses and they have to calculate one person walking on the track and what the wear and tear is. So, we don’t know what they’re going to charge us and it may effect some of these programs but we’ll do the best we can. Town Board Minutes Page 5 June 8, 2004 RESOLUTION #69 – APPOINT ZBA MEMBERS MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Clark Ayes - Sovocool, Clark, Morey Abstain – Scheffler RESOLVED, that the Town Board does hereby appoint Geraldine Rapp, 529 Cobb Street, as member of the Town of Groton Zoning Board of Appeals to fill a vacancy left by Andrea Trzaska for a term ending December 31, 2004, and be it FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Town Board does hereby appoint Thomas Tylutki, 418 Davis Road, as a member of the Town of Groton Zoning Board of Appeals to fill a vacancy left by John Pachai for a term ending December 31, 2008. RESOLUTION #70 – APPROVE EXPENSES FOR JUSTICES TO ATTEND SCHOOL MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Sovocool Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Clark, Morey RESOLVED, that the Town Board does hereby approve expenses of $100.00 each for the Town Justices, John Norman and A. D. Dawson, to attend schooling in Potsdam, July 25-27. RESOLUTION #71 – HIRE SUMMER YOUTH WORKERS MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Clark Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Clark, Morey RESOLVED, that the Town Board does hereby approve the hiring the maximum of four summer youth workers at the rate of $5.15 per hour. RESOLTUION #72 – APPOINT GARY COATS AS CODE/FIRE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Clark Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Clark, Morey RESOLVED, that the Town Board does hereby appoint Gary Coats as Code/Fire Enforcement Officer for the Town of Groton at $15,940.00 per year plus mileage. ( See Resolution #73 – Amend Resolution #72.) Town Board Minutes Page 6 June 8, 2004 George R. Senter, Sr., Code/Fire Enforcement Officer – For the month of April, we issued 12 building permits and none for houses, 3 manufactured homes and 9 others. We issued 4 Certificates of Occupancy/Completion. We sent out 55 violation notices, 60 including duplicates sent to both tenants and landowners. I sent out another one today. I did have a question. What are you going to do about 101 Brown Road, John Anderson? There was some discussion on the subject. There is still a lot of junk and old appliances, etc. on the property. Mr. Anderson is deceased and no one knows who is handling the estate. The mobile home that is there belongs to the church and they are supposed to remove it. The 924 Lick Street property was also discussed. The owners have applied for a demolition permit. George Senter – The building permits for May were 8; no houses; 2 mobile homes; and 6 others. We issued 3 Certificates of Occupancy/Completion. When the new guy comes on, I will be available to help out for a while. Justice Dawson – We would be happy to go over the court procedures with him. Councilman Scheffler – Would you be willing, and can we pay George to show him around Town and meet people and…….? th Supervisor Morey – What I wanted to do is make this effective the 25 and I forgot. RESOLUTION #73 – AMEND RESOLUTION #72 MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Sovocool Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Clark, Morey RESOLVED, that the Town Board does hereby make the appointment of Gary Coats to be effective June 25, 2004. RESOLUTION #74 – PAY FOR TENT & PORT-A-JOHNS FOR OLD HOME DAYS MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Sovocool Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Clark, Morey RESOLVED , that the Town Board does hereby agree to pay for the tent and port-a-johns for Old Home Days as the have in the past. Town Board Minutes Page 7 June 8, 2004 RESOLUTION #75 – SUPPORT OF ELIMINATING THE SUNSET PROVISION OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT RECORDS MANAGEMENT IMPROVEMENT FUND AND THE CULTURAL EDUCATION FUND MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Scheffler Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Clark, Morey WHEREAS, the Local Government Records Management Improvement Fund (LGRMIF) was created in 1989 to provide technical assistance and grants to establish, improve or enhance records management programs in New York’s more than 4300 local governments, and WHEREAS, the closely related Documentary Heritage Program (DHP) for grants and technical assistance to non-governmental historical records repositories also is supported by the LGRMIF, and WHEREAS, a sunset date for the LGRMIF was established in the original legislation to permit its operation as a five-year experiment, and WHEREAS, the New York State Legislature in 1995 twice has extended the sunset date, most recently to December 31, 2005, and WHEREAS, the LGRMIF has effectively supported essential advisory services and 6,300 grants totaling over $113 million to improve the management of records for over half of all NYS local governments, and WHEREAS, the LGRMIF and the programs it supports continue to operate at a high standard of excellence and provide direct and significant benefit to local governments at no cost to the taxpayers, and WHEREAS, the Town of Groton has benefited from technical assistance, training, and publications supported by the LGRMIF, and WHEREAS, the State Legislature created the closely-related Cultural Education Fund (DEF) to support the New York State Archives, New York State Library and the New York State Museum on behalf of all New Yorkers, and the Office for Public Broadcasting, and provided the CEF with an identical sunset date, and WHEREAS, the LFRMIF and the CEF continue to be critically important in the fulfillment of the many records and information related responsibilities of the Town of Groton and to the cultural and scientific needs of the people of New York State, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town Board of the Town of Groton supports the elimination of said sunset provisions in order to make the LGRMIF and the CEF permanent as proposed in State Assembly Bill A10843 and State Senate Bill S06666. Town Board Minutes Page 8 June 8, 2004 RESOLUTION #76 – IN SUPPORT OF PROPOSED SENATE BILL S.622 & ASSEMBLY BILL A.3483 MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Clark Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Clark, Morey WHEREAS, there has been introduced before the New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly a bill known as S.622/A.3483 entitled: “An act to amend the civil practice law and rules, in relation to equalizing the treatment of collateral sources in tort actions, to repeal subdivisions (a) and (b) of section 4545 of such law and rules relating to collateral sources in certain tort actions and to repeal subdivisions (d) and (e) of rule 4111 of such law and rules relating to itemized verdicts in certain tort actions” and WHEREAS, this bill will equalize the treatment of collateral sources in tort actions against public defendants by applying the same standard used in cases against private defendants and allowing collateral sources to offset damage awards for future costs or expenses in actions against public employers, thereby preventing double recoveries; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town Board of the Town of Groton hereby expresses its support for the enactment of New York State Senate Bill S.622 and New York State Assembly Bill A.3483, and be it FURTHER RESOLVED, that certified copies of this resolution be delivered to the Honorable Joseph Brunos, Majority Leader, New York State Senate; the Honorable Sheldon Silver, New York State Assembly; the Honorable Richard Platkin, Counsel to the Governor; the Honorable th Barbara Lifton, Assembly Member for the 125 District; and the Honorable James Seward, st Senator for the 51 District. Announcements: th Planning Board Meeting, June 17, 7:00PM rd Small Cities Monitoring Visit, June 23, 9:00 AM at the Town Hall Thank You note from Deb Finton-Crouch on behalf of the Groton Skate Board Committee Highway Employee vacations, first and second week of July GBA General Membership Meeting, June 16, Noon, Groton Hotel, to fill vacancy. th Discussion took place on whether of not to close the Town Hall on Friday, June 11 in observance of President Reagan’s funeral. Since the Highway Department did not work on Friday anyways, closing would only affect the Town Clerk’s Office. Consensus of the Board was that since they had no jurisdiction over the Clerk’s Office it was the Clerk’s decision to close or not. It was also the consensus of the Board that it would be unfair to the Highway Department if they paid the Deputy Clerk to take the day off. There being no further business, Councilman Sovocool moved to adjourn, seconded by Councilman Scheffler, at 8:19 PM. Unanimous. April L. Scheffler Town Clerk