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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-02-01 Danby Town Board Minutes of Agenda Meeting February 1 , 2010 Present: Supervisor: Ric Dietrich Councilpersons: Leslie Connors,Kathy Halton,Dylan Race Absent: Dan Klein(on vacation) Others Present: Pamela Goddard Town Clerk Susan Beeners Code Enforcement Officer Carl Seamon Highway Supervisor Laura Shawley Bookkeeper Members of the Public: Joel Gagnon,Ted Crane,Robert Roe,Ronda Roaring, Steve Selin Call to Order Following interviews of applicants to the Planning Board, Supervisor Dietrich called the meeting to order at 7:35pm. Appointments to Planning Board and Comprehensive Task Force: The Board decided to hold off on appointments to the Planning Board until further discussion.After a brief discussion of the Comprehensive Plan Task Force's pending projects,the CPTF and other land use issues were added to the March agenda for consideration.Non-regulatory approaches to land use management are seen as very important at this time. Salt Storage Barn grant project: Laura Shawley reported on the need to build a salt storage structure and a leachate detention area at the Highway Garage, in order to mitigate damage to adjacent wetlands,the underlaying aquifer, and Cayuga Lake watershed. The estimated total cost is in the range of$400,000- $425,000. The Town has submitted a request to Congressperson Maurice Hinchey for a$150,000 appropriation request during fiscal year 2011 to support this project. Some CHIPS money- $50,000 per year- may be used over the next two years to begin work getting the pad laid and begin construction. There will still be$80,000 of CHIPS money each year for road improvements. The Highway Department will be asking the Board for permission to work with an engineer to estimate the maximum probable cost of this project. The Highway Department will provide figures and information at the Feb. 8 meeting. There is an expectation that some amount of money will need to be secured through a bond to get started on this project.Any such bond will need to go through public referendum. Health Insurance Consortium: The Consortium had hoped to have everything rolling by January 1,2010, but ran into some snags.The NYS Insurance Department required the Consortium to have Union representation on its board of directors.All Unions will form a sub-committee,have a Chair, and one vote on the Consortium Board. The next step is comply with some Union requests, and to rally the Towns around these issues. There has been some concern as to whether all of the Towns will hold together, in order to make this happen. The Supervisor hopes the issues will be resolved by the time of the Feb.8 Board meeting. Broadband Initiative: There has been another shift in gears in the effort to provide Broadband access to Danby.A stronger proposal, involving a larger(Southern Tier)regional consortium of providers, is being drafted.A draft letter of support will be presented to the Board at the Feb. 8 meeting. This letter will indicate support from Danby for the planning effort to qualify for TARP money. NYSERDA projects: This is a multi-part project. There is a grant to research gasification of biomass with an alternative energy system at the Town Highway Barn.The remainder of the package includes a multi- Page 1 of 2 municipality collaboration researching new"green"laws, e.g.: how to zone for wind-power.An updated, more specific resolution may follow the resolution moved below. Resolution No.25 of 2010-NYSERDA Grant authorization: Resolved,The Town Board of the Town of Danby authorizes the Town Supervisor to sign a grant application to the New York State Energy Research Authority(NYSERDA), currently known as RFP 10.The grant would provide funds for a staff person or consultant to work among several municipalities in Tompkins County to work on the following projects: • Projects to perform energy management functions • Projects to inventory local greenhouse gas emissions and developing reduction plans • Projects to conduct building code and inspection services • Projects to develop zoning guidelines for sustainable development • Projects to implement regional plans that reduce energy use in various sectors Moved by Dietrich, Second by Halton. The motion passed. In Favor: Connors,Halton, Race,Dietrich SPCA and Time Warner Contracts: The Town is still struggling with the SPCA contract. Cable Franchise: Danby needs to answer questions about the Time Warner franchise agreement and whether the fees collected from Time Warner cover the related costs due to the County. Currently,Danby collects one percent of fees from Time Warner. Other Towns collect something in the range of four and five percent. This money could be used to expand cable coverage to more areas of the town. Due to other,more pressing projects,the Supervisor suggests that examination of the Franchise terms be put off until the summer. Road Laws: Danby is working with other municipalities,trying to draft defendable road laws to protect against damage from heavy truck use.An engineering firm has given an estimate for road testing. The multi- town/county network is getting close to having a package of road laws ready for review. These laws will be reviewed by the various Highway Superintendents. There should be material for the Town Board to review at its March meeting.A consortium of six Towns in Tompkins County and additional Towns in Sullivan County will share the costs of the laws being written by the Towns of Danby, Caroline, and Ithaca. The Town of Ithaca is paying initial costs which will subsequently be re-billed out to the participating municipalities. Gas Drilling: The Supervisor and members of the Town Board reported on a meeting with Fortuna representatives and a lobbying trip to Albany. Fortuna has a small number of leases that they are looking to sell. Other gas companies have the majority of regional leases. The conversation with Fortuna representatives was of limited use. Sixty citizens and representatives from across Tompkins County traveled to Albany to meet with members of the State Legislature to discuss issues related to gas drilling. The consensus was that representatives in Albany don't know much about gas drilling, and were open to learning more from citizen groups. Repeated contact with State Legislature is planned. SARA Grant: The Town Clerk investigated a grant for an inventory of electronic records in the Town Clerk's office through the State Archives and Records Administration.After some initial work,it was decided that there was not enough time to complete a strong grant proposal by the February 1 deadline.The next grant cycle isn't until 2011. However,the initial proposal by Access Systems, Inc. is useful and there may be other ways to fund this effort. More information may be available by the March meeting. Adjournment A motion to adjourn the Meeting was made at 8:50pm. Pamela S Goddard,Town Clerk Page 2 of 2