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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-01-09 Town Board Minutes January 9 , 2006 TOWN OF DANBY TOWN BOARD MINUTES JANUARY 9, 2006 PRESENT : Supervisor Fredric Dietrich Councilpersons : Eugene Beavers, Norbert Nolte, Joseph Salino , Gladys Varona-Lacey Others Present : Carol Sczepanski - Town Clerk Susan Beeners - Code Enforcement Officer Roy Casterline-Water District Superintendent Andrew Thurnheer - Highway Superintendent Frank Proto - County Legislature Representative Members of the Public : Asher Hackett, Ronda Roaring, Anne Klingensmith, Ames Brown, Gene Sczepanski, W. Lee Kraus, Leslie Connors, Jonathan Fisk, Heidi Bennett, Al Becker, Katy Walker, Meghan Wood Supervisor Dietrich called the meeting to order at 7 : 00 p .m . and led all present to the Pledge of Allegiance to the American flag. Additions to the Agenda : The Town Clerk asked to be removed from the Safety Committee for the Town Hall Facility. PRIVILEGE OF THE FLOOR: Councilperson Varona-Lacey asked that the issue ofroads in developments should be completed and when they should be accepted by the Town. She would like this issue discussed by the Board . Ronda Roaring reported that there is no cell phone service in her area. She asked the Town Board to consider writing a letter to the president of Verizon Wireless requesting cell phone service to the South Danby Road area. Ames Brown - hopes the possibility of public comment at the end of the meeting so they can respond to the new business on the agenda. He also would like to view the auditors report if it is available for the public . Susan Beeners - suggested that the Board appoint someone on the Town Board to become a representative on the Mitigation Planning Coalition. West Danby Water Superintendent would like to see Sylvan Lane maintained better by the Town . It is a gravel drive and is the access to the West Danby Fire Department and the Water District . The Fire Department has many activities and the road as it is in bad repair. REPORTS : Planning Board Report Susan Beeners reported that the Planning Board will hold a public hearing on Thursday, January 19, 2006 for a small subdivision for a mortgage parcel in West Danby. Highway Department Report : Supervisor Dietrich reported that Katy Walker has been hired as a consultant to access the needs for the Highway Department and to help with the transition of the new Highway Department Superintendent. The Highway Department Vouchers for payment were submitted to the Town Clerk at the meeting. Zoning Office Report A Monthly report has been submitted to the Board . Susan Beeners submitted a summary of construction activities and population numbers for the Town of Danby over the last several years . ' ''!',V ;. I .. , a + . 2 Town Board Minutes January 9, 2006 Community Council - No report Senior Citizens - No report Dog Control - November SPCA report received . The Town Clerk reported on the new Ag & Markets Law that will allow dog licencing for up to three years beginning on January 15 , 2006 . Some of the details of the new law are unknown at this time. COMMUNICATIONS : 1 ) Association of Towns Publication - Annual Meeting information for the Board. 2) Tompkins County Municipal Officers Association - Monthly Meeting Agenda for January. NEW BUSINESS : RESOLUTION NO. 21 OF 2006 RESOLUTION TO AUTHORIZE THREE-YEAR DOG LICENSING By Councilperson Nolte : Seconded by Councilperson Varona-Lacey WHEREAS , New York State Department of Agriculture & Markets Law, Article 7 , has been amended to provide for the licensing of dogs for a period up to three years but not to exceed the expiration date of a rabies vaccination, and WHEREAS, the Town of Danby, believing many of its residents would like to take advantage of licensing their dogs for a period of up to three years , NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town Board of the Town of Danby hereby agrees to allow its residents the option of licensing their dogs for a period of up to three years (in no event longer than a valid rabies vaccine certificate) , and the Clerk shall collect the appropriate annual fee for such license . A roll call vote on the resolution resulted as follows : Beavers Aye Nolte Aye Salino Aye Varona-Lacey Aye Dietrich Aye Carried Unanimously RESOLUTION NO. 22 OF 2006 APPROVAL OF COUNTY DRUG AND ALCOHOL CONSORTIUM FOR 2006 By Councilperson Beavers : Seconded by Councilperson Salino WHEREAS, Tompkins County Drug and Alcohol Testing Consortium meeting was held on October 27 , 2005 and agreed that the Consortium ' s policy should be reviewed and revised, and WHEREAS, the Tompkins County Drug and Alcohol Testing Consortium has updated their policy for your review and is asking the Town of Danby to indicate their willingness to continue in the Consortium for 2006 , now, therefore it is RESOLVED, that the Town Board of the Town of Danby is willing to continue in the Tompkins County Drug and Alcohol Consortium for the year 2006 and accepts the Revised Policy. A roll call vote on the resolution resulted as follows : Beavers Aye Nolte Aye S alino Aye Varona-Lacey Aye • 1 3 Town Board Minutes January 9, 2006 Dietrich Aye Carried Unanimously Approval of Town Clerk' s Report - December 2005 A motion was made by Councilperson Nolte and seconded by Supervisor Dietrich that the Town Board of the Town of Danby approves the Town Clerk ' s monthly report for December 2005 as submitted. A roll call vote on the motion resulted as follows : Beavers Aye Nolte Aye Salino Aye Varona-Lacey Aye Dietrich Aye Carried Unanimously Supervisor' s Monthly Report - December 2005 The Town Supervisor' s December 2005 report was deferred to February 2006 . APPROVAL OF WARRANT NO. 1 OF 2006 Approval of General Fund Warrant No. 1 of 2006 A motion was made by Councilperson Nolte and seconded by Councilperson Varona-Lacey that the Town Board of the Town of Danby approves the General Fund Warrant No . 1 in the amount of $ 8 ,010 . 34 voucher numbers 1 - 31 . A roll call vote on the motion resulted as follows : Beavers Aye Nolte Aye Salino Aye Varona-Lacey Aye Dietrich Aye Carried Unanimously Approval of the West Danbv Water District Fund Warrant No. 1 of 2006 A motion was made by Councilperson Beavers and seconded by Councilperson Nolte that the Town Board of the Town of Danby approves the West Danby Water District No . 1 of 2006 in the amount of $ 665 . 46 voucher numbers 1 - 4 . A roll call vote on the motion resulted as follows : Beavers Aye Nolte Aye Salino Aye Varona-Lacey Aye Dietrich Aye Carried Unanimously Approval of Highway Fund Vouchers for General and Highway Fund Warrants The Highway Department submitted their vouchers for payment tonight and have not been included in the total for the General Fund Warrant and the Highway accounts . The board audited the claims and approved the payment. The General Fund Warrant will be amended in February. A motion was made by Councilperson Nolte and seconded by Supervisor Dietrich that the Town Board of the Town of Danby approves the Highway Department vouchers for payment. A roll call vote on the motion resulted as follows : Beavers Aye Nolte Aye Salino Aye 4 Town Board Minutes January 9, 2006 Varona-Lacey Aye Dietrich Aye Carried Unanimously County Representative Report County Representative Frank Proto reported that committee assignments for the County Legislators have been made . He said he is again Chair of the Health and Human Services Committee . At the next meeting the Legislature is addressing changing the assessment cycle from one year to three years . The EIS for the County Telecommunication Towers is complete and the Town does have a copy for public review . When the Town has their information for the aquifer study grant proposal, Senator Seward needs to know what stage the Town is at. The Board discussed allowing public comment after the business on the agenda has been completed . Code Enforcement Officer, Susan Beeners brought up three issues that will need Board action. 1 . The Aquifer Study 2 . All Hazard Mitigation Plan 3 . Bonding Councilperson Nolte said that Susan Beeners gave him a copy of the Hazard Mitigation Plan and it is something that he wants to take a look at . Bonding Information Supervisor Dietrich said that the bonding package is something the Town Board has been looking at for approximately two(2) years such as the highway salt storage shed, the truck replacement program . There were engineers reports, data surveys and we have gone through the SEQR process ' s . We are in the final stage of putting together all the different language for the bond proposal . He told the Board that you know what is in the bond and asked if they wanted further discussion. He said that the previous Board had accepted the idea that we needed a truck for the Highway Department as part of their equipment replacement program and decided to do a bond package The Town paid cash from the reserve fund balance with the idea that when a bond was obtained that the reserve fund would be reimbursed. The funds to pay for the purchase of the gradall and the one and one half ( 1 - 1 /2) ton truck are included in the proposed bond package . Supervisor Dietrich said that the All Hazard Mitigation Plan and the Aquifer Study are something that the Town is already committed to . Councilperson Beavers said that he had questions for the Supervisor regarding the bond and the aquifer study. The total bond figure is now about $ 600 , 000 and wants to know how old the estimates are and the term of the bonding. He believes that the estimate for the Water District is over three years old. He would like to see a breakdown of the items in the bond proposal and the length of the bond period. You cannot bond for items for longer than the live expectancy of equipment . Supervisor Dietrich said that the estimates are current for the salt storage shed . We need to get all the information to the Town Attorney so that it can go to a bond council so we can know what the bonding package is going to cost the Town. The original idea was to pay roughly $ 120,000 between the gradall and the ton and one half and put that back into the fund reserve . We are waiting to hear back from the Town Attorney as to whether that is still an option. If we decide not to do that we may want to take that money to buy some new trucks from the truck replacement lists . Councilperson Nolte asked if we had enough money to do that, and would we have to put that back into the general fund. Supervisor Dietrich said that $ 120,000 would get us into a new truck package and that would be a part of the bond . He would feel more comfortable keeping the $ 120,000 in the bond to use for the purchase of a new truck. He said that we are not committed to anything at this time. Aquifer Study Supervisor Dietrich said that the aquifer study is something that the Board must act on. We have 5 Town Board Minutes January 9 , 2006 received a contract that must be signed . Susan Beeners said that she hopes that the Board will be prepared to authorize the Supervisor to sign the contracts at the February 2006 meeting . Supervisor Dietrich said that there is money is available to pay for the study. The current bonds that the Town has been paying on have been reduced by the amount of money needed in this coming year. There is another set of numbers for 2008 and 2009 . The Town plans to submit a grant through Senator Seward for $25 , 000 - $ 30 , 000 (per year) for the aquifer study project and that he has sent a request to Senator Seward. County Representative Frank Proto asked Supervisor Dietrich for a copy of the letter to Senator Seward . All Hazard Mitigation Plan Susan Beeners explained a few of the items contained in the All Hazard Mitigation Plan and strategies . To approve this plan will put the Town in a better position to be eligible to apply for FEMA monies . She asked the Board to review the plan and consider authorizing the Supervisor to sign a contract with Tompkins County adopting this plan The complete plan is on the Web and we have copies of the plan and a copy on disk in the Clerk ' s office . There must be public notice so that the public can look at the plan. New Town Roads Councilperson Varona-Lacey said that she is concerned about when the Town should take over roads and that the Town Board needs to discuss this . How many lots must be built on before a road is taken over by the Town . Susan Beeners said that there would have to be some research done on this . There would have to be changes made in the highway specifications for town roads and changes in the subdivision regulations . She suggested that we may want to consult with Dave Harrick or someone from the Local Roads Program at Cornell . Safety Committee The Town Clerk said that last year Councilperson Gagnon and she were appointed to the Town Hall Safety Committee . The Town Board now needs to appoint a new committee . Guest Speaker from NYS Archives The Town Clerk asked permission to invite Suzanne Etherington from the NYS Archives to speak at the next Board Meeting on e-mails and when they become a record. Privilege of the Floor : Roy Casterline said that the web has not been updated with the new members . Ronda Roaring said that the Board has not chosen a person to chair the Task Force . She is concerned that the Board does not let the public to comment on items before the Board during a business meeting. Supervisor said that the Board is going to take recommendations from the Task Force before a chair is appointed. The Board is waiting for recommendations from the Planning Board and the Task Force before appointing a chair for the committee . Motion to Extend the Board Meeting A motion was made at 9 : 05 p .m . by Councilperson Beavers and seconded by Councilperson Salino that the meeting be extended to 9 : 15 to allow additional public comment . A roll call vote on the motion resulted as follows : Beavers Aye f , i 1 ., i 1 I . i . , 15 6 Town Board Minutes January 9, 2006 Nolte Aye Salino Aye Varona-Lacey Aye Dietrich Aye Carried Unanimously Ithaca City Schools Election County Representative Frank Proto reminded the Board and public that on Tuesday February 7 , 2006 there will be a Ithaca City Schools Election on a library tax to be placed on the Town and County Tax Rolls . The polls will be open for voting from Noon to 9 : 00 p .m . Adjournment On a motion the meeting adjourned at 9 : 15 p .m. Oaf 2 / kfrittti Carol W . Sczep . # , Town Clerk min- 1 -9 -06