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-
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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
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