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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-07-11 TOWN OF GROTON - MINUTES OF TOWN BOARD MEETING TUESDAY, JULY 11, 2006 AT 7:30 PM THE TOWN HALL, 101 CONGER BOULEVARD Those present: Glenn E. Morey, Supervisor Ellard L. Sovocool, Councilman Donald F. Scheffler, Councilman Richard B. Gamel, Councilman Sheldon C. Clark, Councilman Victoria Monty, Attorney for the Town Also present: Milton DeGraw, Ric VanDonsel, Lester Coit, Gary Coats, Elizabeth Brennan, Brenda Evanek, Tena McClary, April Scheffler. MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Sovocool, to approve the minutes of the June 13, 2006 meeting as presented. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey. Claim Numbers 195-227 of the General Fund in the amount of$12,685.65 were presented for audit. MOVED by Councilman Sovocool, seconded by Councilman Scheffler, to approve the General Bills for payment. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey. Claim Numbers 106-122 of the Highway Fund in the amount of$11,648.31 were presented for audit. MOVED by Councilman Gamel, seconded by Councilman Clark, to approve the Highway Bills for payment. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey. Claim Numbers 23-28 of the Special Grant (HUD) Fund in the amount of $50,433.47 were presented for audit. MOVED by Councilman Scheffler, seconded by Councilman Sovocool, to approve the HUD bills for payment. Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey. Town Board Minutes Page 2 July 11, 2006 Privileged of the Floor: Milton DeGraw had submitted an application to the Planning Board for a Flag Lot but had withdrawn the application before it was reviewed by the Planning Board. He was there to ask for a refund of the $30.00 fee or that it be applied to a building permit that he was now going to submit. Clerk explained that she could not refund the money since she had paid it over to the Supervisor and that there was no way to apply this money to something else. She suggested that the Board make a resolution for the Supervisor to refund the money from his accounts and Mr. DeGraw could then put that toward the building permit himself. RESOLUTION#06-059—REFUND APPLICATION FEE TO MILTON DEGRAW MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Clark Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves that the Supervisor refund the $30.00 application fee for a Flag Lot to Milton DeGraw. Monthly Reports: Elizabeth Brennan, Bookkeeper/ Highway Clerk— Submitted monthly reports for the Board's review and requested a budget transfer and budget amendment. RESOLUTION#06-060—2006 BUDGET TRANSFER MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Gamel Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey RESOLVED,that the Town Board hereby approves the following 2006 Budget Transfer: General Fund Town Wide: From: Contingency A1990.4 .$450.00 To: Unallocated Insurance A1910.4 450.00 RESOLUTION#06-061 —AMEND 2006 BUDGET MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Gamel Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves a 2006 Budget Amendment in Highway Fund Part Town, for additional CHIPS revenue and expenditure: Debit: CHIPS DB3501 $9,788.24 Credit: CHIPS DB5112.2 9,788.24 Town Board Minutes Page 3 July 11, 2006 Brenda Evanek, from Mondorf & Fenwick, Certified Public Accountants, was there to present the 2005 Audit Report. Ms. Evanek mentioned the main things that she focused on including the money coming in and going out of the Town; where it was coming in; to which bank account; how it was being transferred to other bank accounts; then being transferred back out again. In looking at the bank statements, she compared that to what the actual Town books were showing. She also looked at the money coming in through the Clerk's Office; checks coming in through the mail; how they went to Glenn for deposit; then they went to Liz to record; the timeliness of the deposits. She also looked at revenues and fees that Clerk collected; tracked everything through; everything looked great; no cause for concern. Another area that she spent some time on was payroll; how payroll is recorded; withholding; making sure everything was calculated correctly; proper amounts were being withheld for health insurance, deferred compensation, etc.; making sure what is being submitted to whomever is the proper amounts; traced it through the system; no problems there. One other area she looked at was the budget; the original budget adopted and the final amended budget at the end of the year after all the transfers and adjustments and made sure that the differences between the two amounts were reconciled by authorization of the Board. She looked at the books and records of the justices where she found one or two minor discrepancies. She talked to Court Clerk about these and changes in the procedures were made to make sure they wouldn't happen again. The Court books were in great shape. Ms. Evanek went through the financial statements with the Board and explained highlights of each page. One thing that she suggested was that since sales tax revenues are now being received monthly rather than quarterly, that they should be accrued monthly. She also recommended an inventory of the Town's physical assets. Ric VanDonsel and Lester Coit were there representing the Fire Department. Supervisor Morey asked if the Board had any questions concerning the incorporation of the Fire Department. Councilman Gamel said that his only concerns were those that he had mentioned last month. Supervisor Morey said that there would probably be increased costs in the future which were unavoidable because of state mandates. RESOLUTION#06-062 APPROVE FORMATION OF GROTON VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT INC. MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Sovocool Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey WHEREAS, the Groton Volunteer Fire Department has requested our approval to form a Not For Profit Corporation, and WHEREAS, Under Article 4 of the Not For Profit Corporation Law, every certificate of fire corporation shall have endorsed or annexed thereto the approval, signed and acknowledged, of the authorities of each village and town within which the corporation intends to act, and WHEREAS, the Town has held a Public Hearing in accordance with the requirements of Article 4, and having placed notice of such Public Hearing at least once in each week for two successive weeks in the Groton Independent,the Town's official paper, NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town Board of the Town of Groton approves the formation of the GROTON VOLUNTEER FIRE DEPARTMENT, INC. and Town Board Minutes Page 4 July 11, 2006 hereby authorizes the Supervisor of the Town of Groton to sign and acknowledge any such document required in order to effect the creation of the corporation and to convey this Board's approval of such. Continuation of Monthly Reports: Gary Coats, Code/Fire Enforcement Officer - submitted his monthly report for the Board's review. Mr. Coats reported on the Lick Street property belonging to Chris Muka. Mr. Muka had until July 2, according to Judge Mulvey, to submit drawings, signed and stamped by a licensed, New York State architect and a timeframe for work to be done. He just drew up what was already there with no mention of what work was going to be done on the house, measurements or costs. Copies of a letter written to Mr. Muka were provided for the Board and attorney was going to proceed with the next meeting with Judge Mulvey. Councilman Clark asked about a fence being built on property on the corner of Smith and Sovocool Hill Roads. Mr. Coats said that is not built yet but that it would fence in 16 acres, be 6' tall and 3' into the ground. The purpose will be to raise rabbits for training hunting dogs. Councilman Scheffler asked about property at 101 Brown Road. After some discussion the Board felt that Mr. Coats should proceed with efforts to get the property owners to clean up the mess. April L. Scheffler, Town Clerk/Tax Collector — Submitted her monthly report for the Board's review. Told the Board that the Olde Home Days Committee fundraiser cookbook was on sale. Informed them that the copy machine in her office had been fixed with parts taken from the machine in the kitchenette as parts are no longer available for it. Hopefully it will last until next budget time but wanted to let the Board know of the problem. Supervisor Morey told her to start pricing new machines. Victoria Monty, Attorney for the Town — Reported that they were collecting a little money from Diversified but not very much, around $120.00. Ms. Monty said that she would research the sidewalk issues in McLean and that some thought should be given before signing the contract with the County for the Spring Street Bridge as she felt that the Town was being asked to take on responsibilities that they did not have to. Councilman Clark asked why the Diversified settlement was not generating more money. Ms. Monty was not sure of the number or if it was for a full month or not. Councilman Clark asked if this was a percentage of the owner's wage and Ms. Monty said yes. Supervisor Morey — What Sheldon is trying to say is that $120.00 doesn't even come close to the interest and with the sole proprietorship he could be paying all of his expenses out of his account as part of his salary so that some of it is hidden. Why don't we just have the Sheriff go over there and just start doing an auction on his home and her home? Attorney Monty—I don't think she owns a home. Supervisor Morey—It was transferred illegally to her sister who lives in a trailer park. Town Board Minutes Page 5 July 11, 2006 Attorney Monty — So, we'd have to go to court and spend more money to get that set aside. I think you should think about it. This is a huge judgment. Do you want to put more money out there knowing that you're already in the hole? Supervisor Morey—Couldn't we sue them for costs too? Attorney Monty—Yes, but collection is always the issue. Councilman Gamel — If we auction off his house; it's in Cayuga Heights, right? It's certainly going to bring $85,000. I say we spend the money. He's done this for how many years? It's ridiculous. If at some point you can still sleep at night and you can do this after this money has been loaned to you to get a business started. He's taken money out of every business person in this town. Everybody who would like to start a business, that money is already out there and we can't loan it to somebody else to do that. I think we ought to take his house. It's ridiculous. Councilman Clark—It makes us look bad too. Councilman Gamel — We can't keep pushing this off. In my personal opinion, if it cost $20,000, we're already out $85,000. Councilman Sovocool—I say auction off his house and get our money. After further discussion it was felt that they should proceed to collect the money owed by the owners of Diversified as they had personally guaranteed the loan. RESOLUTION#06-063—COMMENCE ACTION AGAINST THOMAS SIMS AND ANNELLE FRIERSON MOVED by Councilman Gamel, seconded by Councilman Scheffler Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby requests the Town Attorney to commence action against Thomas Sims and Annelle Frierson and go after any property that either person owns in order to satisfy the outstanding loan owed to the Town of Groton once and for all. John Norman and A. D. Dawson, Town Justices, submitted their monthly report for the Board's review. Councilman Donald Scheffler, as Recreation Coordinator — The Summer Concert Series is going on this month. We didn't have a recreation meeting so I don't have a lot to report. I did meet with Viola and J.J., from County Youth Services. We're working on a joint venture to coordinate every organization in Town that we can come up with to see if there's duplication of services and if a lot of people are doing things on the same weekend, to try to coordinate things better. Viola is doing a great job. Councilman Scheffler read a letter from Dr. Brenda Myers, from the Groton Central School, commending the work that Viola Fitzgerald was doing with the Recreation Committee. Town Board Minutes Page 6 July 11, 2006 RESOLUTION #06-064—ACCEPT RESIGNATION FROM GERALDINE RAPP MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Scheffler Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby accepts the resignation from the Zoning Board of Appeals of Geraldine Rapp. RESOLUTION #06-065 — RESCIND RESOLUTION #06-058 MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Scheffler Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby rescinds RESOLUTION #06-058 —APPROVAL OF THE TOMPKINS COUNTY COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS (TCCOG) INTERIM BYLAWS AND APPONTMENT TO THE TCCOG. RESOLUTION#06-065—RESOLUTION TO JOIN THE TOMPKINS COUNTY COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS (TCCOG)AND APPONTMENT TO THE TCCOG MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Gamel Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey WHEREAS, the Tompkins County Intermunicipal Steering Committee has been meeting to discuss ways the local governments could work together to reduce costs to the residents, and WHEREAS, the Committee has learned that other Counties have created a Council of Governments made up of local government officials, and WHEREAS, the Tompkins County Council of Governments is intended to be an association of local governments organized to provide a forum for discussion and negotiation leading to agreements for more efficient and fiscally responsible delivery of government services, and WHEREAS, the Town of Groton desires to be a member of the Tompkins County Council of Governments, NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town Board of the Town of Groton does hereby approve becoming a member of the Tompkins County Council of Governments, and be it further RESOLVED, that Glenn Morey is appointed as the voting member and Don Scheffler as the alternate member. Town Board Minutes Page 7 July 11, 2006 RESOLUTION #06-067—NOMINATE COLLEEN GLOSTER-GRAY TO RECREATION PARTNERSHIP BOARD MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Sovocool Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby appoints Colleen Gloster-Gray to represent the Town of Groton on the Tompkins County Recreation Partnership Board. RESOLUTION#06-068—REAL PROPERTY ASSESSMENT PRACTICES IN THE COUNTY OF TOMPKINS MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Sovocool Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey WHEREAS, the real property assessed values in the County of Tompkins are unduly influenced by the properties placed on the market by the transient segment of the County population, and WHEREAS, the assessed value of real property in the County of Tompkins has been subject to increases totally out of line with the increase in assessed values in the nine (9) surrounding counties and in New York State generally, and WHEREAS, the annual and tri-annual double and triple digit percentage increases in the assessed real property values often place undue hardships on the long-term residents of the county and the residents on fixed incomes who wish to remain in their homes, and WHEREAS, the assessed values of real property in the County of Tompkins are often determined in an arbitrary and capricious manner, and WHEREAS, the Tompkins County Legislature appears unwilling and unable to remedy this situation, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town Board of the Town of Groton requests to the Tompkins County Legislature that the assessed value of real property in the County of Tompkins be fixed at the value specified at the conclusion of the 2001 assessment cycle unless the assessed property has subsequently been sold, and be it FURTHER RESOLVED, that changes to the assessed value of real property in the County of Tompkins only occur at the time of actual sale of the property in question. Clerk was instructed to send above resolution to County Legislature and our representative. Town Board Minutes Page 8 July 11, 2006 Announcements: ➢ Planning Board, July 20, 7:00pm ➢ GBA Summer Picnic, July 19 at American Legion, 6:00pm There being no further business, Councilman Sovocool moved to adjourn, seconded by Councilman Scheffler, at 8:38pm. Unanimous. April L. Scheffler, RMC Town Clerk