HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-03-08 TOWN OF GROTON - MINUTES OF TOWN BOARD MEETING
TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 2011 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
Fran Casullo, Attorney for the Town
Also present: Rick Huber, Tim Hutchings, Nick Babel, April Scheffler.
MOVED by Councilman Sovocool, seconded by Councilman Scheffler, to approve the
minutes of the February 8, 2011 meeting as presented.
Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey.
MOVED by Councilman Scheffler, seconded by Councilman Sovocool, to approve the
minutes of the February 8, 2011 public hearing as presented.
Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey.
Claim Numbers 20-30 of the Highway Fund in the amount of $170,042.21 were
presented for audit.
MOVED by Councilman Gamel, seconded by Councilman Scheffler, to approve the
Highway Bills for payment.
Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey.
Claim Numbers 56-90 of the General Fund in the amount of $84,133.41 were presented
for audit.
MOVED by Councilman Clark, seconded by Councilman Sovocool, to approve the
General Bills for payment.
Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey.
Monthly Reports:
Elizabeth Brennan, Bookkeeper/Highway Clerk - Was not present but had submitted
monthly reports for the Board's review.
Gary Coats, Code/Fire Enforcement Officer - Was not present but had submitted
monthly reports for the Board's review.
Richard C. Case, Jr., Highway Superintendent - Was not present.
Town Board Minutes Page 2 March 8, 2011
April L. Scheffler, RMC, Town Clerk/Tax Collector - Submitted monthly Town Clerk, Tax
Collector and Country Pet Acres reports for the Board's review. She had nothing else to
report.
Francis Casullo, Attorney for the Town - Had nothing to report.
John J. Norman & A. D. Dawson, Town Justices - Were not present but had submitted
monthly reports for the Board's review.
Councilman Donald Scheffler, as Recreation Coordinator - Did not have very much to
report except that most of the bands were lined up for the summer concert series and
that will be finalized by next month. Concerts will be on Wednesday nights this year.
Brian Robison, County Legislator - Was not present.
Privilege of the Floor:
Tim Hutchings - I live in the Town of Groton, on McLean Road. I'm here this evening
because I have a serious concern about one of our Town officials. I'm very concerned
with Mr. Coats and his actions and I'd like to explain to you why. In the spring of 2008 I
asked him what I needed to do to move my elderly parents onto my property. He told
me the things I needed to do, such as I needed to subdivide; I needed to have a
separate well; separate septic; separate electric; separate driveway to do this. I
couldn't afford to do that, nor did I have enough land so I let it go instead of asking for
a variance. But a short time after that, our neighbor began to build something, what
appeared to be a garage. After six or eight months into it, the garage got a second
floor with house windows and house doors. I called Mr. Coats to ask him about it, why
he was allowing this man to put a third residence on his property. He assured me there
is absolutely no way he is going to allow it; it's not allowed; he's not going to do it; he's
building a garage with storage. Why does he need house windows and doors? Well, I
don't know, a lot of people have windows in their garage. Okay, I'll let it go. Another
time period went by, quite a few months. We're beyond the year of a building permit.
We're still building. I called Mr. Coats again and asked him why are we still building this
house? He assured me, oh no, it's not happening; not building a house. Why are we
still building, we're even beyond a year? Well, I don't know, I got to get out there and
see what's going on. I'll call Tim and ask him. Called the man by name. Okay. That
was the second incident. After this the building stopped for a period of time. When it
restarted and went on every day for a period of time I called Mr. Coats, he was on
vacation. It seemed like day and night this went on. So, I called and asked him when
he got back and he said that he had gone out there and he had closed out the permit
because he determined that it had been accomplished, a garage with storage. And it
had gone beyond that because when he was there, there was partitioned off rooms,
you know, framing. So, okay. Well, again it happened a short time ago, started up
again. This is like a two and a half year period. This is my concern. So, last Thursday I
called him and again I voiced my opinion to him about this guy building an apartment,
garage, whatever, in what is supposed to be a garage. And he's building an
apartment house or whatever he's doing. And he's done none of the things he told me
I had to do. He hasn't subdivided; there's no separate well; no separate electric;
sewer; driveway; nothing. So, I said what do I got to do, go to the Board? And he got
pissy with me and I hung up on him. He called me back ten minutes later and said he
had called this fella and he had admitted that he was building cabinets. I said, well
you can see clearly in there that he's hanging them on the walls. He's building a house.
Town Board Minutes Page 3 March 8, 2011
Oh, I've got cabinets in my garage, he said, I'm looking at them right now. Why can't
he have cabinets in his garage? So, he said, I invite you to come on over and you can
look at the plans. They're open to the public and you can see what this thing is. He's
doing nothing wrong. I've checked on it. I don't have a leg to stand on. If you don't
like it after you've seen the plans, go ahead and take it to the Board; bash me in front
of the Board. I've been bashed before; I don't care. I don't think he thought anybody
was going to show up. So, Friday I went to his office and asked for these plans. You'd
be sick if you looked at them. There's about five pages in this file. The building permit is
not proper. He only had a permit to put the concrete in for God's sake, nothing
beyond that. And he has a house sitting there, a third residence on the property, that
Mr. Coats has allowed all this time under protest. And there's even a letter in the file
from someone else that had a complaint that he's done nothing about. And I think the
Board should be aware of it. Because he said when he gets back, he's going to
aggressively go after this man. Why should he be aggressively going after this man
when he's allowed him to do it? I'm not against a man building a house if he has to but
he has to do it the same way we all do. But I am against Mr. Coats allowing him to do
it, sneaking, and then lying about it when he's asked about it until it's right in front of his
face and then doesn't really have an answer except he's going to aggressively go
after the man and he can't do it now because he's going on vacation. My daughter
says, are you kidding me? When I applied for my building permit you told me that I had
to have a set of plans and a blueprint submitted and I had to build it just like that or I
had to take it down. And you're going to do nothing? Don't you think you should put
a stop work order on this guy or something? He's been building for over two years
without even a permit. And he says, oh, I'll mail him one. Didn't even go put a stop
work order on the place. Who knows if he mailed him one or he didn't? I think the
Board should be aware of it because I think with these types of behaviors, it's only a
matter of time before somebody sues this town and they would get away with it. I think
Mr. Coats is going to cost us a lot of money and we should think about that.
Supervisor Morey - Tim, all you wanted was an elder apartment?
Mr. Hutchings - I wanted to put a temporary mobile home on my property so if at some
point something happened to my parents, because times are tough.
Councilman Game! - Was that accomplished?
Mr. Hutchings - No, because I don't have the money to put all separate facilities in to
do this and he told me that's what I'd have to do.
Supervisor Morey - That's a special code for elder housing
Mr. Hutchings - ....So, I spent a lot of money to make a deal with the fellow next door to
re-excavate his whole property to make a condemned property livable again so that
my parents would have a place to go. My issue is this guy building a third residence on
his property without having to do any of those things and Mr. Coats lying about it and
covering up for the guy. A protest was made. I'm not the only one that's protested.
Do you see what I'm getting at? He's for some reason giving him special privileges, for
what reason? The only thing that's in that file, as a matter of fact, the electric
certificate was just signed last month that was supposed to be a garage that was
started in 2008. And how on earth did they inspect the electric with all the drywall up
and all painted? I don't have a clue. Maybe you do. Mr. Coats finally said, when I get
back I'm going to aggressively go after him because we should call this what it is. I
said, what do you mean? He said, well if it looks like a house, it smells like a house, and
quacks like a house, it's a house. I said, you know, we said that when he put house
windows and doors in. He said, well if I took 50 people and drove them past there and
Town Board Minutes Page 4 March 8, 2011
asked them, what is this, what do you think they're going to tell me? That was his
answer.
The Board thanked Mr. Hutchings for coming in.
Rick Hubber - I own a General Contracting Business, the MH Company, in Ithaca, NY. I
have one employee and have been in business for 18 years. We are a full service
construction concern and have a superior rating with our clients. We have completed
many projects of varying size and complexity including complete home construction,
renovations, siding and roofing.
Construction businesses, like many other businesses, are affected by the current
economic slow down. Given this economic climate alternative business opportunities
are being explored in an attempt to bolster current living standards. Furthermore, my
business has required hands on involvement in order to achieve and maintain its
reputation of high quality work and commitment to excellence. The magnitude of my
involvement is starting to take a toll both mentally and physically, which necessitates
segueing into other business opportunities.
My desire is to develop an environmentally conscientious motorcycle recycling
business, which involves the acquisition, de-construction, and resale of parts. The core
business will deal primarily with Harley Davidson motorcycles obtained from insurance
companies and private parties. The company name will be "Rick's Cycle Parts."
I have a great love for motorcycles and like working with my hands. When I was young
I always worked on my motorcycles and cars and in my 20's worked as a mechanic for
a contractor repairing heavy equipment, dump trucks and small power tools. I enjoy
taking things apart to see what makes them tick. This type of business not only serves
the community by ensuring that compromised motorcycles are properly dispositioned
but also allows me to fulfill a desire and passion I had for motorcycles as a young man.
Moreover, this business melds well with my current construction business in many ways,
which eases the transition between the two. This is truly a business, which would allow
me to enjoy going to work everyday just as my construction business does.
The Internet will be utilized for parts resale through my business web page, Ebay,
Craigslist, and classified ads. Parts will be bought by custom motorcycle builders, repair
shops and motorcycle owners. This will take place in a storage unit on Route 222
owned by Dave McCarty. There will be two or less motorcycles in the building at one
time. There will be no outside storage. Lease regulations prohibit outside storage and it
would also detract from Dave's property. Parts not saleable will be promptly taken to
either a metal recycling center or an appropriate disposal facility. The fuel and oil will
be drained into approved containers and promptly disposed of at an appropriate
recycling center. The usable parts will be transported to another facility, outside of
Groton, where they will be cleaned, inventoried, photographed, and stored. "Rick's
Cycle Parts" database will contain the inventory of resalable parts which will be sold
through the internet. I will not be open to the public. There will rarely be traffic to the
unit. I will take parts to a UPS store or the post office for shipping on a daily basis. A UPS
truck may make an occasional pickup or delivery. There will not be any noise for these
operations. Any dismantling work will be performed using hand tools such as ratchets,
box wrenches, etc. The State of New York requires a sign containing the business name
and facility number. Since there are no size requirements, the sign will be small.
My mission is to provide the best service and quality parts to my clients through efficient
shipping and outstanding customer service. What I need is a letter from the Town of
Town Board Minutes Page 5 March 8, 2011
Groton zoning department stating that this unit is in accordance with the Town's zoning
laws. Proper building and location zoning is one of the requirements needed to obtain
a dismantling license. Additional requirements include insurance, special equipment,
sales tax number, Federal ID. I have given you the additional requirements.
Councilman Gamel - This is going to take place in one of the storage units, like just one
of his garage door storage units?
Mr. Huber - Yes.
Councilman Gamel - How many employees?
Mr. Huber - Just me.
Councilman Gamel - What happens if it gets bigger? Instead of two motorcycles, you
need four?
Mr. Huber - Then I'll have to come to the Board again and see if I can get into a better
place.
Councilman Clark- What will you do for heat?
Mr. Huber - I don't really need any heat. I just work out in the unit. I don't really need
any heat.
Councilman Gamel - How often would you do this? I mean you have another business.
Would this be part time?
Mr. Huber - Yes,just something to try to get my feet wet in and see if it works out.
Councilman Gamel - What about that cold day when you decide to fire up a
salamander?
Mr. Huber - There's no electric in his unit, so I guess I wouldn't work on a cold day.
Supervisor Morey - What about machinery or hand tools or anything that you would be
using?
Mr. Huber - Oh,just ratchets with sockets, a tool box.
Supervisor Morey - So no air tools or anything like that?
Mr. Huber- No.
Supervisor Morey - One of the requirements is that you have to have a junk and
salvage permit to do this? Why does the State require you to do that if it's just
dismantling?
Mr. Huber - Correct. They don't distinguish between automobiles and motorcycles so
you need a salvage license. Another piece of equipment that I would need is
something to recycle refrigerant, like if you took a car apart, you'd want to put the
refrigerant into some containment system and reuse it. I'm not going to need it but I'm
going to have to have it just to satisfy them because they don't distinguish between the
two.
Councilman Scheffler - Why here if you have a warehouse for the parts someplace
else?
Mr. Huber - Well, it's in the City of Ithaca and where my building is it's not zoned for it,
otherwise, I probably would. It's expensive in Ithaca. This is kind of a, I wouldn't really
call it a hobby, but it's something I want to try to get into and don't want to pay a lot of
rent and put a lot of money up front.
Town Board Minutes Page 6 March 8, 2011
Councilman Scheffler - That would probably have to be on your salvage permit that the
warehouse is someplace other than where you're dismantling. I think there's something
about that, that parts or vehicles don't leave. Once you've bought a vehicle for
disassembly, it doesn't leave until it's sold. But there's probably a provision on that and
it might be something you should look into. For two different locations, they're going to
want to be able to inspect that this is the wrecked motorcycle you're taking apart and
where did that engine go.
Mr. Huber - I imagine there would be a paper trail. If I needed to, I could rent another
unit from Dave to store them in too. That's an option as well, then I wouldn't have to
take them off the sight.
Supervisor Morey - Well, unfortunately, you're considered a junkyard because you have
to have a junk and salvage permit. In order to do that you have to go to the Planning
Board
Clerk Scheffler said that it was not something that goes to the Planning Board but the
Town Board. She had provided copies of the Town of Groton Junkyard Law to the
Board and Attorney.
After some discussion it was decided to have a public hearing at the April meeting. A
copy of the local law was given to Mr. Huber and Clerk Scheffler said that she would
mail him a formal application and anything else he would need.
RESOLUTION #11-027 - SET PUBLIC HEARING FOR JUNKYARD
MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Scheffler
Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey
RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby sets a Public Hearing for April 12, 2011 at 8:30pm
at the Town Hall for the purpose of reviewing an application for a Junkyard Permit for
Rick Huber.
Part 1 of a State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) form had been prepared and
distributed to the Board. Attorney Casullo went through the 10 pages with the Board
and several edits were made on the form. Clerk Scheffler will prepare a clean copy
with all edits made and distribute it to all involved agencies. Attorney Casullo
explained that once the SEQR is completed that a final public hearing on the Draft
Town of Groton Land Use and Development Code is required. This final public hearing
will probably be scheduled for the May meeting.
RESOLUTION #11-028 - AUTHORIZE TOWN SUPERVISOR TO SIGN PART 1 OF
THE STATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY REVIEW FORM
MOVED by Councilman Sovocool, seconded by Councilman Scheffler
Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey
RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby authorizes the Town Supervisor, Glenn Morey, to
sign Part 1 of the State Environmental Quality Review Form regarding the Draft Town of
Groton Land Use and Development Code of 2011.
Town Board Minutes Page 7 March 8, 2011
RESOLUTION #11-029 - REQUEST NEW YORK STATE TO MAINTAIN FUNDING STREAMS FOR
YOUTH BUREAU AND FURTHER URGE ELIMINATION OF COMPETITIVE BID FUNDING
MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Gamel
Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey
WHEREAS, Governor Cuomo has submitted his proposed 2011-2012 Executive Budget
recommending the development of a Primary Prevention Incentive Program (PPIP),
and
WHEREAS, this proposal actually slashes the current allocation of funding for Youth
Development and Delinquency Prevention (YDDP), Special Delinquency Prevention
Program (SDPP), and Runaway and Homeless Youth Act (RHYA), by 50%, and
WHEREAS, this proposal eliminates these funding streams and offers the distribution of
funds on a competitive basis to counties, resulting in the elimination of funding to many
rural counties, thereby promoting inequities in prevention and positive youth
development services across New York State, and
WHEREAS, the proposed competitive bidding process will also result in a loss of local
planning and control, and
WHEREAS, the aforementioned proposal will dismantle the current youth bureau system,
structure and funding streams, and will be especially detrimental to all municipal youth
bureaus, and
WHEREAS, current youth development and prevention services are provided through a
fair and equitable formula-driven allocation through the New York State Office of
Children and Family Services, and
WHEREAS, the current funding through youth bureau structures ensure appropriate local
monitoring, evaluation and accountability, and
WHEREAS, youth development, prevention and intervention are essential for critical
services to children and youth, and
WHEREAS, if adopted, this portion of the Executive Budget would result in the minimal
loss of over$200,000 of youth services dollars for Tompkins County, and
WHEREAS, if adopted, New York State will be abandoning its long-time national
leadership and partnership in youth prevention, intervention and development services,
as articulated in Article 19-A of the Executive Law, and
WHEREAS, the Town of Groton believes that providing services and programs for
children and youth are an investment, not only in delinquency prevention, but also in
the development of all our young people, in all ways, thus enriching our society and
nation as a whole, therefore be it
RESOLVED, that the Town of Groton hereby requests that Governor Cuomo and the
New York State Legislature maintain the current youth bureau funding streams, albeit
with proportionate reductions, and eliminate the concept of competitive bid funding,
and be it further
RESOLVED, that Governor Cuomo and the New York State Legislature be directed to
uphold Article 19-A of the Executive Law and to maintain the current youth bureau
system and structure which is in the best interest of the 26,000 children and youth of
Town Board Minutes Page 8 March 8, 2011
Tompkins County and of the children and youth of New York State as a whole, and be it
further
RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby directs the Town Clerk to forward a certified
copy of this resolution to Governor Cuomo; Assembly Speaker Silver; Chair Senate
Children and Families Committee Senator Savino; Chair Assembly Children and Families
Committee Assembly Member Paulin; Assembly Member Lifton; and Senator Seward.
MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Scheffler, to enter Executive
Session for the purpose of discussing litigation, at 8:24 pm.
Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey
MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Gamel to return to regular
session at 8:58 pm.
Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey
RESOLUTION #11-030 - AUTHORIZE ATTORNEY TO TAKE ACTION AGAINST JOHN BECK
MOVED by Supervisor Morey, seconded by Councilman Scheffler
Ayes - Sovocool, Scheffler, Gamel, Clark, Morey
RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby authorizes the Town Attorney, Francis Casullo, to
take whatever action necessary to remedy the code violations committed by John
Beck.
Announcements:
➢ Planning Board Meeting, March 17 at 7:30 pm
➢ Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting, March 30 at 7:00 pm
➢ McLean Community Council Meeting, March 9 at 7:30 pm at McLean Fire Hall
• Public Hearing for State Environmental Quality Review, April 12 at 7:30 pm
There being no further business, Councilman Sovocool moved to adjourn, seconded by
Councilman Scheffler, at 8:59 pm. Unanimous.
April L. Scheffler, RMC
Town Clerk