HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-06-16 Town Board Minutes
JUNE 16, 2021 5:00 P.M.
PUBLIC HEARING NO. 1
NEW YORK STATE SMALL CITIES CDBG PROGRAM
NEW YORK STATE OFFICE OF COMMUNITY RENEWAL
2019 TOWN-WIDE HOUSING REHABILITATION GRANT PROGRAM
(CDBG #287HR323-19)
A Public Hearing was held by the Town Board of the Town of Cortlandville at the
Municipal Garage located at 3587 Terrace Road, Cortland, New York, concerning the 2019
CDBG Town-Wide Housing Rehabilitation Grant Program (#287HR323-19) awarded to the
Town of Cortlandville, and to provide details with respect to the program and program progress,
to solicit comments with respect to funded activities and program administration, and to answer
questions with respect to the CDBG Program or grant activities.
Members present: Supervisor, Thomas A. Williams
Councilman, Jay E. Cobb
Councilman, Jeffrey D. Guido
Councilman, Theodore V. Testa
Councilman, Douglas E. Withey
Town Clerk, Kristin E. Rocco-Petrella
Others present were: Town Attorney, John DelVecchio; Highway Sup’t. Larry Drach;
Deputy Town Clerk, Abigail Albro; Chris Einstein and Jean Loewenstein representing CHA;
Town Planning Board Member, Ann Hotchkin; Garry VanGorder, Director of Cortland County
IDA/BDC; John McNerney, Recreation Director, Cortland County Youth Bureau; Town
Residents: George Mowry; Antonio Triana; Tricia Roiger; Robert Martin; Pamela Jenkins; Randy
Ross; JoAnne Ross; Stephen Flatt; and News Reporters: Colin Spencer from the Cortland
Standard: Kevin Smith and Tim Bennett from Cortland Voice.
Supervisor Williams called the Public Hearing to order.
Town Clerk, Kristin Rocco-Petrella read aloud the published, posted and filed legal notice.
Supervisor Williams explained that this is the second of two Public Hearings as required
under the Community Development Block Grant program at 24C-FR570.486 to be held during the
administrative phase of the CDBG Grants. The purpose of the second hearing to be held during
the administrative phase, to solicit public comment on the effectiveness of the administration of
the program, to provide information on the activities and progress towards the goals and objectives,
to obtain citizens view on the CDBG Program, to respond to public proposals, if any, and answer
questions. Also, they will solicit comments and questions from the public - can be written or verbal.
He reminded the public that a handout was available regarding the CDBG Program at the sign-in
desk. The public was also welcome to contact Thoma Development Consultants at (607) 753-
1433.
Supervisor Williams offered privilege of the floor to those in attendance. At this time,
Garry VanGorder, Director of Cortland County IDA/BDC requested privilege of the floor. His
comments were directed towards the second public hearing to be held regarding the Draft
Comprehensive Plan and were therefore made part of the record of that hearing.
Town resident, Stephen Flatt asked when the public comment period would close regarding
the CDBG Program. Supervisor Williams requ ested comments be submitted to the Town Clerk
by Thursday. Mr. Flatt voiced his preference to speak with Supervisor Williams outside of the
meeting and would contact him at his office the next day.
No further comments or discussion were heard.
The Public Hearing was closed at 5:12 p.m.
JUNE 16, 2021 5:12 P.M.
PUBLIC HEARING NO. 2
TOWN OF CORTLANDVILLE
DRAFT COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
A Public Hearing was held by the Town Board of the Town of Cortlandville at the
Municipal Garage located at 3587 Terrace Road, Cortland, New York, concerning the Draft
Comprehensive Plan for the Town of Cortlandville (dated December 2020).
Members present: Supervisor, Thomas A. Williams
Councilman, Jay E. Cobb
Councilman, Jeffrey D. Guido
Councilman, Theodore V. Testa
Councilman, Douglas E. Withey
Town Clerk, Kristin E. Rocco-Petrella
Others present were: Town Attorney, John DelVecchio; Highway Sup’t. Larry Drach;
Deputy Town Clerk, Abigail Albro; Chris Einstein and Jean Loewenstein representing CHA;
Town Planning Board Member, Ann Hotchkin; Garry VanGorder, Director of Cortland County
IDA/BDC; John McNerney, Recreation Director, Cortland County Youth Bureau; Town
Residents: George Mowry; Antonio Triana; Tricia Roiger; Robert Martin; Pamela Jenkins; Randy
Ross; JoAnne Ross; Stephen Flatt; and News Reporters: Colin Spencer from the Cortland
Standard: Kevin Smith and Tim Bennett from Cortland Voice.
Supervisor Williams called the Public Hearing to order.
Town Clerk, Kristin Rocco-Petrella read aloud the published, posted and filed legal notice.
Supervisor Williams: Thank you. Now, we’re also going to do this a bit differently than our
typical Public Hearing. And I’m going to give you a little bit of an outline as to how we’re going
to proceed. Before we take comment, we’re going to allow our two professionals from Clough
Harbour, our engineering firm, to give a brief presentation about the Comprehensive Plan. What
went into it and sort of what it entails. We will then, once they’re done, we will open for Public
Hearing. And that’s for the purpose of getting comments, taking comments. They’ll be recorded.
They’ll take notes. Thereafter we will… they will prepare a synopsis of those comments as well
as those that have already been presented in writing and then that will go to the committee that
worked on this. The citizen committee that worked on this. And, if they feel that revisions are
warranted… that committee feels revisions are warranted based on questions or comments they
will then come back to us with those. So, it’s a process. But, right now, the first thing we’re going
to have is our folks from Clough Harbour, Jean Loewenstein and Chris Einstein. To give us a brief
overview of what the process was lo these many months and years.
CHA Engineer Jean Loewenstein: Thank you. As the Supervisor said, my name is Jean
Loewenstein. Can you hear me now? Can you hear me now? Oh, this is better. As the Supervisor
said, my name is Jean Loewenstein and Chris Einstein is with me. We worked with the committee
for several years to assist the committee to put together this plan. I'd like to recognize the
committee members because they did put in a lot of hard work and a lot of time to try to guide the
future of the Town. Some of the members are here in the audience today. Nasrin Parvizi was the
Chair. Ann Hotchkin and Pam Jenkins who are both here. As well as David Yaman and Forrest
Earl. John Proud also was the Town Board liaison through December of 2019 and he also served
as a technical advisor for this project. I now would like to turn it over to Chris for the beginning
part of the presentation.
CHA Engineer Chris Einstein: Thanks Jean. So, Jean actually is all but retired. And I had to
coax her a little bit to come out tonight to join me and help me through this process. And so, one
of the reasons… or one of the ways I got her to do that was that I got to do some of the speaking
and she didn't have to carry the whole thing as she normally does. So, you'll have to put up with
me for a little bit this evening. But, so, as far as today's agenda for this presentation, we're going
to give you a brief overview of the planning process. Really what we want to do tonight is listen
to you. We want to hear what you have to say because that's probably one of the most important
parts of the planning process is listening to the community, getting that feedback, and getting to a
consensus on the plan so that we can move forward. So, we’re not going to spend a lot of time on
all of the recommendations. There are 40-some-odd recommendations in the plan. Those were
whittled down into some key action items which Jean is going to go over. And then we’ll have the
public comment, and then we'll talk about… depending on how the night goes, we'll talk about
next steps. So, in general the Comprehensive Plan helps to organize a community’s thoughts and
JUNE 16, 2021 TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 2
ideas through this planning process. Alright? So, it asks the questions: how should we grow? And
what are the implications of that growth on things like community services, your resources, your
natural resources, your community resources, and then the general quality of life in the Town? So,
those are the things that this process helps us pull together. So, it’s intended to be, as the term says,
Comprehensive. Right? So, it’s all encompassing. It’s not intended to get, as we say, get into the
weeds. Right? We’re not getting into the details of how certain actions are going to come out. It’s
really a plan to set the stage for additional studies and things that may need to be done to get you
folks to the place where you want to be. Alright? But the first step is to have a vision for the
community and that’s a big part of this planning process. Once these, you know, thoughts and
ideas have become recommendations and become part of the action plan and adopted by the
community these are the things that are going to guide the policies of the Town as you move
forward. So, a lot of the land use decisions. And then the big one is and the case, not all
communities can get to the point where they are able to identify their future land use resources to
the extent that the Town was able to. And so, as a result of that you’re setting yourself up very
nicely to go into a zoning process or a rezoning process to change the land use regulations for
some of the areas of the Town. So, there’s a lot to this plan. So, in terms of the roles the community
plays during this process. The Town Board’s responsible for the preparation, the adoption, and the
implementation of the Comprehensive Plan. However, it’s very common for a Town Board to refer
the preparation of the draft plan either to the Planning Board or to a committee. And, in this case
the previous Board elected to establish a committee which Jean introduced tonight, and they were
appointed to prepare this draft plan. Our role in this is to help organize the planning process and
to provide some of the expertise necessary to address solutions for certain problems in the Town.
So, that’s where we come in. And then the community, as I’ve mentioned before, has probably the
most important role which is providing that feedback. And that’s done through the public meetings
that you’ve had. It was done through the community survey that Cornell University did for us and
also through the review of the draft plan. We’ve got it all together now so it’s an opportunity for
you folks to review it and to provide your feedback which is partly what we’re doing here tonight.
So, the Comprehensive Plan itself has some basic elements to it. They are pretty much tried and
true for all Comprehensive Plans. They usually start off with an Inventory and Analysis of the
community's resources. And the one thing that I’ll say about this is the Inventory Analysis is
intended as a snapshot in time. Okay? It’s not something that we continually revise as we go
through the process unless we identify some issues as we’re preparing the draft plan that maybe
we need to look at something a little more detailed. Which we did as this process evolved. But
it’s… it’s not something that's going to be… you have… what you’re going to get at the end of the
day is a plan that’s going to guide you for the next 10 to 20 years. Okay? And so it’s not intended…
a lot of things can change. Right? In the community. And the way you get at those changes is when
you go to the next step and start to do those action items which will then get you to various things
like rezoning. Okay? So, the purpose of the Inventory Analysis is to give us an idea of what the
community has at the start of the process. Okay? Community Vision. Alright? That is a very
important component. Both the Community Vision and Goals and Objectives. Those are going to
be the guiding principles for the plan and recommendations. Alright? So, that process took quite a
bit of time and we’re going to go through that Vision in just a minute. The Plan Recommendations
are going to help provide solutions to issues in the Town as well as to do things like protect
resources and, you know, in general, enhance the community resources that you're already proud
of and have in this community. And I have to say, today Jean and I drove around, and we took a
few pictures and we drove through Blodgett Mills and over to 281, in that direction and we were
just struck by the fact how beautiful the Town is. Going through some of the rural portions of the
Town. You know, we’ve driven through the Town many times, but I don’t think we’ve had a
more… a nicer day than today to do it. And we were just so impressed with just the quality of the
views and just, you know, all of the, you know, nice things are a part of this Town. And then, so
you have all these recommendations and I mentioned you have something like 40
recommendations. There are things then that need to be prioritized. Right? Because you're not, you
know, the Town has limited resources and you only have so much time and so many volunteers
that can help and so really the idea then is to create an Action Plan that prioritizes those
recommendations. What is most essential? What needs to be done now? And what can you put off
until later? You know? And, what happens in a lot of instances is we will prepare, and all agree
upon the Action Plan and what you find is some of those actions will get flip flopped over time for
various reasons. Funding becomes available. Something happens that an action becomes more…
of more importance, or more of an issue. So, it’s a live document. Alright? It’s a live document.
It's not something that is necessarily set-in stone. Okay? So once this is established it’s something
that you can constantly look at, review. Something happens in the Town, you get… a big employer
comes in. You know, something of that nature changes the character. You go back to your plan
and you can look at those issues. You don’t want to have to redo the whole plan, but you can redo
pieces and parts, and update it, and keep it fresh. Okay? So, let’s talk a minute about the
Community Vision. So, this was a lengthy process. The process of putting together the Inventory
JUNE 16, 2021 TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 3
Analysis, holding public workshops, doing the Community Survey, which the Town elected to do
through Cornell University which came up great. What was our percentage? Was it 40% response?
CHA Engineer Jean Loewenstein: It may have been higher than that.
CHA Engineer Chris Einstein: Yea. Maybe Ann knows? Do you recall? It was high. You know,
a statistically relevant response to a survey is in the range of five to ten percent. So, you got a
really great response. So, we feel real good about that because those are the things that help to
develop this Vision, Goals and Objectives. And so, we are hopeful that we’ve captured this. And
when I say we I mean not only just CHA, it’s the Town, the Town Board, and members of the
committee that put this together, and the community that participated in the workshops and
visioning process. So, the Vision helped us guide the development of the Goals and Objectives
and the recommendations and then that ultimately culminated in the Action Plan, which is in the
Comprehensive Plan. So that is the importance of the Vision. And so, this is the Vision itself. As
I mentioned, this went through considerable review. The Town of Cortlandville envisions itself as
a place where people of all ages and walks of life can live, work, and play. So sometimes we call
this a complete town. A place where people can do all of the things that they need to do. They
don’t have to commute long distances and that type of thing. The resources you need are within
the Town. A community that protects all of its resources. So, clearly you have identified the fact
that you want to preserve and conserve your natural, agricultural, and historic, and build resources.
So, the community that you love, your community character. Right? Now, what’s interesting about
this is that the next part of this kind of goes back to the beginning and emphasizes the importance
of this being a complete Town. So, it says that a Town promotes and provides social, economic,
educational, cultural, and recreational opportunities enabling families to make this their home now
and for future generations. So, it just provides a little more input to what that means to be a place
where all walks of life can live, work, and play. We think it’s an excellent Vision that the
community came up with. So, at this point I am going to turn it over to Jean to talk about some of
the key recommendations and actions.
CHA Engineer Jean Loewenstein: Thanks Chris. So, Chris reviewed the Vision with you. And
what many people ask me at the beginning of a Comprehensive Planning process is if we have this
really pretty statement how do we get to an action? So basically, you have to continue through the
Comprehensive Plan steps. You develop goals and objectives, which the committee did. Which
are essentially the guiding principles to identify the what and the how. And, from the goals and
objectives, you can move to recommendations which are the steps and strategies to achieve a goal.
Essentially, the action items are the prioritization of the recommendations. So, just to give you an
example, it’s very simplistic. An example goal could be to reduce traffic during peak hours on
Town roadways. Well, there’s many ways you could do that. One way could be to encourage
biking and walking. Another way could be to encourage increased use of public transportation.
The recommendation or strategy related to that could be to prepare a multi-modal facility plan that
identifies locations for sidewalks, pathways, trails. And, also to address roadways as well as
identifying things like expanded bus routes and improved transportation services. Now, as we
already mentioned the committee identified over 40 action items. And, if the Town were to try to
do them all at once it would probably result in a certain amount of chaos and stress. So, what the
committee did was prioritize the actions into immediate, short-term, medium, and long-term. The
immediate term actions being the most important should be accomplished within a year of the
adoption of the plan. The committee identified four areas that they considered immediate action.
The first is reviewing and updating the Well-Head Protection District and the Aquifer Protection
District. Particularly as it relates to the uses allowed. And also, to map the critical environmental
areas and go… and map it as a critical environmental area and go through the process to have it
adopted through the DEC. And this would include as a minimum Well-Head Protection Zone 1A
and 1B and lands to the South and West that include Lime Hollow Natural Area. The second area
that the committee felt was an immediate action or a highest priority was addressing the
Agricultural Zoning District. Several years ago, the Town did adopt an Agricultural Plan and the
update to the Ag District would be basically in conformance with the Ag Plan. The goal here is to
update the allowable uses in the Ag District to focus primarily on Ag uses. And also changes to
the Ag District boundaries through the use of Conservation Residential Zoning and Rural
Development Guidelines. And the intent here is to create a transition area. This next slide addresses
the idea of the Conservation Residential Zoning District. There's three illustrations. I'm not sure
how well you can see them. But, the first one on your left is essentially… it's just a photograph of
a farm… of a working farm in a rural area. The second illustration is that same farm area, but it's
been developed through Conventional Suburban-style development. So, as you can see most of
the farmland is no longer available. In the third illustration, believe it or not, it's the same level of
development, but development has been sighted to allow for most of the farmland to still be in use
as well as also maintaining much of the tree lines. This helps protect farming, open space, habitat,
JUNE 16, 2021 TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 4
and visual character, but it also provides a transition between farming and non-farming uses and
can reduce some land use conflicts. Now, I know this is difficult to see, but we do have maps on
the side that you can look at afterwards. This is the future land use map and the purple boundary
it’s… and then green is on the other side of it. That represents essentially the growth boundary or
the transition area I was just talking about. And, just inside of that, the orange hashed area, is the
area that is recommended to be zoned as Conservation Subdivision. A final immediate action that
the committee addressed is to review and update the Solar Energy Law. I know this has been a
very hot topic. There's a lot of pressure in the Town related to solar… solar installation and it's
difficult to keep up. The committee recommends that this law be reviewed and updated to address
protecting farming resources, the visual character, as well as perhaps consideration on limiting
parcel coverage, facility orientation, buffers, and decommissioning activities. Several short-term
recommendations which would generally be carried out within one to two years include adopting
a Business Overlay District, which would help incentivize underutilized and infill parcels in
already developed areas of the Town. This will help the Town rely more on existing utilities, and
roadways, and services. And this can be more cost effective for both the Town itself as well as
Developers. This can also help protect areas that are currently, what I would call, green or
undeveloped and limit development occurring in the far reaches. Say, Commercial Development
suddenly occurring in the far reaches of rural areas which then will create additional development
pressure immediately around that. Another recommendation was to identify areas for Mixed-Use
Zoning. Potentially along Route 11 and Route 13 near the City. This provides opportunities to live
and work proximate to goods and services, entertainment, and transportation to areas that already
have existing services and sidewalks, where people can essentially live, work, and play in the same
area. Another zoning recommendation is related to the General Industrial Zone. The General
Industrial Zone in the Town of Cortlandville is… falls pretty much in the most developed areas of
the Town. The intent here is to review the allowable uses in the General Industrial Zone to try to
eliminate or limit land use conflict with adjacent residential neighborhoods. The Industrial Zones
are surrounded with pretty heavy residential development. So that was a concern. Finally,
Stormwater Management Regulations should be reviewed to try and address localized flooding
issues. Adopting a Stream Corridor Overlay District with minimum buffers from streams, banks,
and wetlands not only helps protect your water resources, but also provides Wildlife Corridors.
The adoption of a Utilities Master Plan, as it relates to sewer, water, and even stormwater
management to identify the location and timing of utilities extensions can have several result, and
excuse me, it will help limit unexpected development pressure that the utilities can bring and also,
it’ll allow the Town to plan for the financial cost of extending utilities when it's necessary. The
committee also recommended preparing a Multi-modal Facilities Master Plan which essentially
addresses all modes of transportation: sidewalks, trails, roadways, pedestrian pathways, shared
roadways, and allow the Town to… for better overall planning of their transportation network.
And, in the end, it can help reduce traffic in some instances and may help eliminate the need for
road improvements or at least reduce some of the costs associated with them. When of the biggest
assets the Town has is its people in its neighborhoods. So, protecting and reinvesting in
neighborhoods is important. This should include a housing conditions survey, to identify housing
needs as well as neighborhood needs. And also to ensure appropriate transition between land-uses
to try to reduce land-use conflicts. A unique area of the Town, the Blodgett Mills neighborhood,
could really benefit from the development of The Neighborhood Plan. This will help strengthen
this unique neighborhood, it could promote a cohesive development pattern there, and also take
advantage of its location right on the river. And that leads us to the Tioughnioga River. This is a
great resource that should be protected. One way is for the Town, I bel ieve they've already been
doing this, to participate in the Local Waterfront Revitalization Program with the City of Cortland
and other riverfront communities. This will allow the Town … open up doors for the Town to
receive some grant funding to develop facilities on the river and protect it. One area being the
development of Public Access, so people can actually utilize the river. And again adopting a
Stream Corridor Overlay District would help this Water Resource by protecting its banks. The
Lime Hollow Nature Center is really a gem, as many of you know, and the surrounding lands. The
Town should review its zoning to make sure that there are no land-use conflicts that would harm
or impact this facility. And it should continue to support the Nature Center’s mission of
programming and education. Limiting development in wetlands, floodplains, and slopes greater
than 15% will go a long way to protect against erosion, provide natural buffers, wildlife habitat,
and maintain critical and natural systems in the Town. And finally, as we all learned this year,
Broadband is such an important thing in order to get through our days. The expansion of
Broadband could provide more opportunities for residents, for education, for jobs, and may attract
new residents and businesses into the Town. As you already mentioned, in regards to solar, the
Town should continue to promote the responsible development of renewable energy which could
take the form of solar, wind energy, and other forms of energy we may not have thought of yet.
And, finally supporting both existing and new community-minded businesses is important. Now
there were probably 20 so or more other recommendations that… this doesn’t diminish their
JUNE 16, 2021 TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 5
importance, but we didn’t want to keep you here all night. And, in order for the Town to try to
accomplish some of these actions, prioritizing them is very important. But, as Chris mentioned,
the Town should always be on the lookout and aware of opportunities that occur that may allow
them to take advantage or complete other items in the action plan. And that is all I have.
Supervisor Williams: Okay. Thank you. Okay. So let’s open the second Public Hearing at 5:42
p.m. I have four people who have signed up to speak. And, then others if they want to. I will remind
everybody, some are regulars, some aren’t but we have… the Town has a five-minute comment
time restriction and we’ll keep track of that and we won’t get a hook out, but we’ll let you know
if you’re going over the time. So, we have four. I’ll take them in the order they signed up. George
Mowry.
Town Resident George Mowry: I live on 3238 South Cortland-Virgil Road, which is the first
house on the left as you turn off Route 13. There's a parcel of land for sale at the end of Route 13.
It’s been for sale for quite a while and then there is an RV place across the road that’s been for
sale. My concern is and if you’re not for growth you’re a fool. But, my concern is with the traffic
on that road. Three family pets have been killed and a woman has bounced off my car and wiped
out our front porch because of speed. I can't afford to put a… you kno w, one of those radar
detection things there, but to our left the J.M. Murray Center put all their Manufacturing in there
and to our right, as I said, there’s that commercial property. I don't know, if you can sit in my
driveway you could see people not speeding but flying up that road. There’s 18 wheelers going up
that road now from the J.M. Murray Center. There’s more traffic. I would welcome the Sheriff to
come sit in our driveway. I just don’t… I've been there 28 years and I don't want whatever that
takes place to ruin my homes value and just… I want to protect people. I want people to slow
down. Years ago there was a gas station that was going to be put in there and I voiced my opinion
on that. I don’t voice my opinion on a lot of other things that come in. And Kristin, I thank you for
the help you gave me. Never did get in touch with Tom, I lost the number. But, this is what I was
going to get in touch with you about. There’s five houses there and all this has been there for a
long time. I just don't want those roads to be missed in the investigation of what’s going on.
Supervisor Williams: Thank you.
Town Resident George Mowry: Okay? That’s really all I’ve got. Me and my hat will sit down.
Supervisor Williams: Second on the list is Tricia Roiger. Please.
Town Resident Tricia Roiger: Hi. I'd like to, first of all I live on 795 North Lamont Circle. And,
I’d like to thank the committee that worked on this Comprehensive Plan. I can see how much work
was put into it. I thank them for their time for that as well. I do support the plan. I think it's
important to have this Comprehensive Plan. Just a few things I wanted to make note of is what I
think people are already thinking of and that's in the plan. But to really continue to be mindful of
the Aquifer and the Well-head and implement those strong zoning laws to reduce the stress that
can happen on the Aquifer as we develop the area. And then the zoning, mindful of what business
expansions occur and avoiding the sprawl along 13… 13 south to Dryden. I know th at was some
talk a few years ago and we want, as the plan is showing, how do we have that development where
we keep those farmland and conserve that land as well as kind of balance the business, but to avoid
that sprawl. And, transportation was mentioned. I’d like to say more about that. In terms of public
transportation there is a… we have a bus service, but longer hours are needed. More routes are
needed so that people can use that. I know they're… in the plan to talk about sidewalks and the
importance of that and multi-use, that’s important too. But really emphasizing public
transportation and encouraging that. The last thing is really continuing public notification with
aspects of the plan that will be discussed, what the next steps will be, who's in charge of those next
steps, when will those meetings be? It’s hard for me even though I have… I get to Cortland paper
I try to pay attention to what’s going on and it… things just got missed and sometimes other
announcements are in the paper that, this afternoon things are… you know there’s a meeting,
so…Encourage more of that continuous notification and many many more areas rather than what
you typically do. So thank you.
Supervisor Williams: Thank you. I should have mentioned before, if anybody has written
comments and they want those in the record get them up here to one of our folks and they will be
put in, verbatim, into the record. Pam Jenkins.
Town Resident Pamela Jenkins: Okay, yes. So it was a great experience. I want to thank Chris
and Jean for sure and other members of the committee. We did a lot of work. We learned a lot. We
refined a lot of things that were difficult to deal with. But, we tried our best. You know, when I
JUNE 16, 2021 TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 6
was getting ready for today. I went… I was thinking about extreme weather events. So I thought,
well I’ll look up the National Oceanic Atmospheric Association. And, I found this publication. I
downloaded it today from NOAA on New York and it said: New York has experienced a large
increase in heavy rain events and further increases are projected. Projected increased winter and
spring precipitation raise the risk of Springtime flooding, which could cause delayed planting and
reduced yields. Okay, so then I put that in my hat and I also thought about this document that I
downloaded today on current and future trends in extreme rainfall by the New York State Attorney
General. It's actually dated September 2014. And I’ll just read you one sentence I think it is, maybe
two. “The pattern and the impacts of more frequent and more extreme rainfall are undeniable, and
projections are that these events will likely increase in the future. If we are to overcome the
challenges of climate change we must incorporate resiliency, planning, and response measures into
our communities and our landscape.” And then they gave a little of … well somewhere there was
a graph. Actually, that’s in the NOAA about the… a little graph, which you may not be able to
see, the increase in extreme rainfall events that basically go straight up. I can give you these
documents and I’m going to provide written comments too. So, I followed along with that and I
went through our plan and I see on page 3-6 our goal 6.6 prohibits/limits development in wetlands
and flood plain and on slopes and excess of 15%. Again, the same sentence on page 4-6 for Town
character. And again, that’s reinforced on page 416, reduction of future flood risk through climate
change adaptation strategies. Well, then I went to our… here… our boundaries which pushed
growth within this boundary, but it… very much for the land on these farms right along Kinney
Gulf Road and as we approach Hoy Road to be included in that. I think they need to remain in
agriculture. They’re actively being farmed. The groundwater is near the surface. There are
wetlands, flood plains, a regulated floodway, and a… map that I had produced that I would like
included in our Comprehensive Plan. That called much of this area an area… I’m unsure of their
exact words… Special flood hazard. Okay? And I would like to have these maps included in the
Comprehensive Plan along with all the other areas in Cortlandville that are areas of special flood
hazard. I outlined it here, but of course you can’t see it. But I’ll include that in my written
comments. So, if you’re going to be consistent with our own Comprehensive Plan, we need to take
that farmland, on the western part of Kinney Gulf Road approaching Hoy Road, keep it in
agriculture to be consistent with our own plan. And, to be consistent with pursuing clients…
Supervisor Williams: 30 seconds.
Town Resident Pamela Jenkins: Okay. Climate resiliency. Okay. The farmland protection plan
recommends hiring a town planner. I second that. We need to view… identify viewsheds. Promote
walkable neighborhoods. Stop the process of approving residential development like we just did
along Tompkins Street without sidewalks for multi-residential no sidewalks. Also, I’d like to see
an index included in this document with references and links.
Supervisor Williams: Please finish.
Town Resident Pamela Jenkins: Okay. To all documents that were used or that can be useful.
Also, the maps. Larger. In this Aquifer Protection plan the maps that were produced were twice
the size of the map in the draft plan.
Supervisor Williams: Understood.
Town Resident Pamela Jenkins: So, I’d like to see that. Thank you.
Supervisor Williams: Thank you. Yes?
Planning Board Member Ann Hotchkin: I didn’t sign up. I don’t know…
Supervisor Williams: You’ll have a chance. You’ll have a chance. Bob.
Town Resident Robert Martin: I appreciate the effort put in by the committee and Clough Harbor
also for their presentation. I will not touch on everything I provided you. You have a copy of that
already cuz the Vision Statement and other things. I don’t want to go over it again. But it’s
important. I agree with Tom Williams’ recent comments in the Cortland Standard. “We’d like to
get it done, get it off the table, get it into place.” Adopt the Comprehensive Plan. Determine who’s
responsible for implementation, particularly the immediate action items. This is a multiple year,
continuous process probably over the next ten years. From table 5-1, just some areas that I think
are really important and obviously immediate. The Well-head Protection areas and Aquifer
Protection district articles 1-A and 10, map and adopt the CEA (Critical Environmental Areas).
And, review and update the Aquifer Protection. The Agricultural Zoning District. Update the
JUNE 16, 2021 TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 7
district boundaries and district language to include uses. Conservation Residential District. Create
a new zoning district that provides a transition between rural and more highly developed areas.
And some of this ties in with what we're doing now. In terms of revising the solar law. Next thing
I had down is the solar energy law. Update the 2018 law to ensure the responsible development of
solar energy and protection of agricultural resources and community and visual character of the
Town. Should the Town consider hiring a planning professional as a consultant or creating a
position of the Town planner. You mentioned in the survey that had a great response to the Cornell
survey and I just put down a few things here. That review the survey results as a source of
community comments. They had… one of the items was protection and conservation aquifer. 152
responses on that. Property taxes, no surprise, 172. Zoning and land use management 103. And
neighborhood preservation 116 responses on that. I pulled out a lot of highlights from the
Comprehensive Plan and I don’t want to read those bullet points back to you. It’s in there. It’s
good reading, right? Jeff?
Councilman Guido: Yea.
Town Resident Robert Martin: If you need something to help you fall asleep at night. Not that
it’s not interesting, but it’s just lengthy. Growth Management and Land Use. Okay? We already
talked about changing that. Zoning and incentives as far as business districts. Change to allow
more industrial uses. Adopt zoning reflect recommendations of the 2018 Agricultural Plan. And
this one, obviously I have an interest in being a long-term board member of the Lime Hollow
Nature Center. Protecting and enhancing the Lime Hollow area. And the rest of the comments are
all bullet points are notes you already have. So, I will cut mine short.
Supervisor Williams: Thank you.
Town Resident Robert Martin: Thank you.
Supervisor Williams: Now, does anybody else wish to speak for or against the Comprehensive
Plan? Please.
Planning Board Member Ann Hotchkin: My name is Ann Hotchkin, and I was on the steering
committee for the Comprehensive Plan. I think I was selected because I've lived in the Town for
40 years as a longtime employee of Thoma Development Consultants for almost thirty years. I was
assigned to the Town as their main grant writer outside of Economic Development creating other
Planning Documents and other Comprehensive Plans for other communities. I was on County
Planning for almost 19 years and now I'm on the Town Planning Board. So, this is a particular
passion of mine. I was lucky enough to spend my career working in both the City of Cortland and
the Town of Cortlandville. My husband had a little bit of a rockier road. He was at Wilson Sporting
Goods when it closed. He was at Rubbermaid when it closed. Then he had to go to Syracuse. He
came back and retired from Graph-Tex. So, we used to say if Ed was walking through the door
better be careful your plant might shut down.
Supervisor Williams: And if he were a baseball player we would call him a closer.
Planning Board Member Ann Hotchkin: So, to say that, you know, we weren’t greatly affected
by Economic Development, with what was in our house would be short sighted. But, as a planning
person too you’re always stuck with the fact that you’ve got some zoning laws. And then in
particular in the Town of Cortlandville we have the aquifer. So, a large percentages of the
communities I’ve worked with are getting pressure and that’s why they typically do a
Comprehensive Plan, because they are ready to update their zoning. The thing that, whoever
decides to update the zoning you have to be very careful when you do that. Because, number one,
you do want to protect the aquifer, but at the same time you want to encourage economic
development and you don’t give… their variances are usually something that you don’t give out
readily. So, there are places that… in other communities where variances aren’t even allowed. So,
when we go to, you know, spot zoning variances and the like over an aquifer I just throw out the
cautionary tale that it's not easy for ZBA and Planning Board members to make a decision. Don't
put them in that position. Come up with solid zoning and don't try to change things around once
you get a project that you think has to go in a place where it's not allowed. Thanks.
Supervisor Williams: Thank you. Does anyone else wish to speak for or against?
Town Resident Stephen Flatt: My name is Stephen Flatt and I live on Levydale Park in the Town
here. I had actually hoped not to have to talk about anything professional tonight. But, I'm going
to follow up a little with what Pam Jenkins had to say there. This may be a subject for your next
JUNE 16, 2021 TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 8
plan, your next public plan that you put together. A few years ago, most of you should remember
that we had a very specific and unique weather occurrence happen. It was called training and that's
where storm after storm after storm follows along the same path. In this particular case it started
down in Georgia somewhere, came North, and then for some scientific reason whatever it decided
to stop over Binghamton. And, as a result about two-thirds of the Broome County was washed
away. And I have been studying weather for the last 20 years. I have a weather station in the
backyard, and it’s automated now so it's downloaded every day. Actually, every hour of every day
so I’ve quite a lot of detail. And I have noticed exactly what Pam has mentioned about the increase
in the significant storms and the overall increase in rainfall on an annual basis. Alright, my cut at
this is something else that I've been studying or just actually started studying and that's disaster
planning. And I'm kind of wondering if we have a disaster plan for the Town. Because if that
phenomenon that happened here eight or ten years ago to Binghamton had actually survived
another 40 miles it would have ended up right over Cortland. And most of Cortlandville would
have been washed away. So that’s my question and that’s the end of my comments.
Supervisor Williams: Thank you. Okay for the third and final time. Does anybody wish to speak
for or against the Comprehensive Plan? …
Garry VanGorder, Executive Director Cortland County IDA/BDC: Want me to go again?
The following comments were expressed during the first public hearing of the evening. It was
decided at the time that Mr. VanGorder’s comments would be inserted into the minutes of Public
Hearing No. 2 regarding the Draft Comprehensive Plan.
Garry VanGorder: Thank you. Garry VanGorder, Cortland County Business
Development Corporation. First, I want to congratulate and thank all the folks who worked
so hard on this. For what a year plus? So, good work on behalf of the Town and I know a
lot of people appreciate it. I’m speaking to this on behalf of Economic Development around
the entirety of Cortland County. The BDC is a County-wide organization, but we do have
a responsibility for Cortlandville as well, especially as a primary growth community
outside the City of Cortland. The Town of Cortlandville is very important to the
community’s economic future. And I’ve spoken at Public Hearings before in favor of
certain projects. Sometimes against the headwinds, folks who are more concerned about
preservation and those sorts of things than they are economic growth. I know in the report,
and I agree with them 100% that there needs to be a balance. I’ve said that before as well.
That we cannot forsake growth opportunities, employment opportunities to preserve things
that people find more important. I completely agree that the aquifer is a critical resource
for the entirety of Cortland County and there is much there to work with and preserve.
However, I am concerned that if some of the provisions are enacted ultimately by the Town
that it could preclude employment opportunities. And I would note that in your survey the
number one thing that folks wanted in Cortlandville were employment opportunities
followed second by the preservation of the aquifer. That doesn’t mean… the two should
not be mutually exclusive, I guess is my point and I just hope that, again and I appreciate
all of the work that went into this. I understand the sentiment. I just hope that when it comes
to growth opportunities that the Town really takes a hard look at what it’s done. If it’s
going to enact preservation zones or legislate outgrowth opportunities that could be
harmful economically. So, I’m just here to weigh in on that. No specific critique other than
that I hope for real balance as this is applied in the future.
Supervisor Williams: Thank you Gary.
Garry VanGorder: Thank you.
Supervisor Williams: Hearing no one Public Hearing is over at 6:03 p.m. Thank you all for your
comments. As I say, if you have written or want to provide written comments they will be included
in the record. Before we leave this, I’ll just give you just a thumbnail of what's next. As I’ve said
these comments will be given to Clough Harbour they will put them in some semblance of order
and I'm almost certain that they will reactivate the committee to look at them and then make
recommendations, the committee along with Clough Harbour, will make recommendations back
to the Town Board as to where to go with the comments. Then there will be a SEQR process and
County Planning involved. The next step is for them to put this in a package, bring it to the
community, and then bring that information back to us as an addendum to the Comprehensive
Plan. Also, most of you, if not all of you know that we have a moratorium on solar that was put in
place a month or so ago. A committee is in place and has met… Three times John? Has met three
times to look at changes to the 2018 version of the solar law that we have in place and the hope is
JUNE 16, 2021 TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 9
that all this will come together and maybe at the same time where we have the recommendations
from the solar committee, ad hoc committee dealing with the solar as well as Comprehensive Plan
and we can meld this all into one package, do one set of hearings and SEQRs and all that and be
done with it. That's to be seen whether that will happen, but that is my fervent hope. I think it’s a
hope for the Board that we can put it all together in one tidy package and move on to something
else. So, that’s what’s going to happen next.
The Public Hearing was closed at 6:03 p.m.
JUNE 16, 2021 TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 10
JUNE 16, 2021 6:03 P.M.
TOWN BOARD MEETING
The Regular Meeting of the Town Board of the Town of Cortlandville was held at the
Municipal Garage, 3587 Terrace Road, Cortland, New York with Supervisor Williams presiding.
Members present: Supervisor, Thomas A. Williams
Councilman, Jay E. Cobb
Councilman, Jeffrey D. Guido
Councilman, Theodore V. Testa
Councilman, Douglas E. Withey
Town Clerk, Kristin E. Rocco-Petrella
Others present were: Town Attorney, John DelVecchio; Highway Sup’t. Larry Drach;
Deputy Town Clerk, Abigail Albro; Chris Einstein and Jean Loewenstein representing CHA;
Town Planning Board Member, Ann Hotchkin; Garry VanGorder, Director of Cortland County
IDA/BDC; John McNerney, Recreation Director, Cortland County Youth Bureau; Town
Residents: George Mowry; Antonio Triana; Tricia Roiger; Robert Martin; Pamela Jenkins; Randy
Ross; JoAnne Ross; Stephen Flatt: and News Reporters: Colin Spencer from the Cortland
Standard: Kevin Smith and Tim Bennett from Cortland Voice.
Supervisor Williams called the Regular Meeting to order.
Councilman Guido made a motion, seconded by Councilman Withey, to receive and file
the Cortlandville Planning Board Minutes of May 25, 2021. All voting aye, the motion was
carried.
RESOLUTION #174 AUTHORIZE SUPERVISOR TO SIGN PURCHASE ORDER
#0178 TO STRICTLY TECH FOR THE PURCHASE OF
SWITCHES AND OTHER EQUIPMENT NEEDED FOR THE
UPDATES TO THE TOWN’S INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
STRUCTURE
Motion by Councilman Withey
Seconded by Councilman Testa
VOTES: AYE – Williams, Cobb, Guido, Testa, Withey NAY – 0
ADOPTED
BE IT RESOLVED, the Town Board does hereby authorize and direct the Supervisor to sign
Purchase Order #0178 submitted by the Town Clerk to be paid to Strictly Tech for the purchase of
the following equipment as part of the updates to the Town’s Information Technology Structure
for the Town Offices and Water/Sewer Department, for the total cost of $13,811.82:
2 – NETGEAR M4300-28-G-POE+ Switch ($1,493.81 each / $2,987.62 total)
1 – NETGEAR M4300-52-G-POE+ Switch ($2,092.00)
2 – NETGEAR M4300-28-G-POE+ Switch ($1,493.81 each / $2,987.62 total)
2 – AddOn Netgear AXM761 Compatible SFP+ Transceiver ($177.93 each / $355.86 total)
2 – AddOn Netgear AGM731F Compatible SFP Transceiver ($39.98 each / $79.96 total)
1 – APC Smart-UPS SRT 1000VA ($689.99)
1 – APC Smart-UPS 750VA LCD ($283.18)
1 – APC Smart-UPS SRT 1500VA ($939.00)
1 – APC Smart-UPS SRT 2200VA RM ($1,390.00)
1 – SonicWall TZ470 ($1,401.48)
1 – SonicWall TZ270 ($605.11)
RESOLUTION #175 AUTHORIZE SUPERVISOR TO SIGN PURCHASE ORDER
#1437 TO DEERE & COMPANY FOR THE PURCHASE OF A
2021 JOHN DEERE GATOR HPX615E FOR THE TOWN
HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT
Motion by Councilman Withey
Seconded by Councilman Testa
VOTES: AYE – Williams, Cobb, Guido, Testa, Withey NAY – 0
ADOPTED
JUNE 16, 2021 TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 2
BE IT RESOLVED, the Town Board does hereby authorize and direct the Supervisor to sign
Purchase Order #1437 submitted by the Highway Superintendent to be paid to Deere & Company
(NY State Landscaping Grounds Contract PC68131), for the purchase of a 2021 John Deere Gator
HPX615E for the Town Highway Department, for the total cost of $10,617.48.
RESOLUTION #176 AUTHORIZE PAYMENT OF VOUCHERS – JUNE
Motion by Councilman Withey
Seconded by Councilman Cobb
VOTES: AYE – Williams, Cobb, Guido, Testa, Withey NAY – 0
ADOPTED
BE IT RESOLVED, the vouchers submitted have been audited and shall be paid as follows:
Funds A, B, DA, DB, Voucher #713-790
HG, SF, SS, SW General Fund A $ 17,844.62
General Fund B $ 3,078.57
Highway Fund DA $ 0.00
Highway Fund DB $ 24,721.72
Gutchess Lumber SC Project HG $ 0.00
C’Ville Fire District SF $ 0.00
Sewer Fund SS $ 65,091.46
Water Fund SW $ 70,836.10
Funds CD1, CD3, CD4 Voucher #26-29
BMills Rehab CD1 $ 0.00
Town Wide Rehab CD3 $ 27,317.00
Business Devl CD4 $ 80,992.97
Funds TA, TE Voucher #(None)
Trust & Agency TA $ 0.00
Expendable Trust TE $ 0.00
Supervisor Williams offered privilege of the floor to Stephen Flatt.
Town resident, Stephen Flatt commented that he was please to know there may be a re -
evaluation of the Town’s Noise Ordinance. He suggested a “quiet time” be instituted at 8:00 p.m.
as well as a “quiet day”, perhaps Sunday, especially during the summer months. He asked the
Board to consider “quiet time” prior to 9:00 a.m. or 10:00 a.m. in which lawn mowers could not
be used. Mr. Flatt stated that the Board will get “pushback from some of these ideas”. He asked
the Board to “take this issue up and work on it in the future.”
Supervisor Williams thanked Mr. Flatt for his comments. No further requests for privilege
of the floor were made.
Councilman Guido made a motion, seconded by Councilman Testa, to receive and file the
following monthly reports:
1) Cortland Community SPCA – May 2021;
2) Town Justice LeFevre and Town Justice Mathey – May 2021;
3) Tax Collector – May 2021;
4) Town Clerk – May 2021;
5) Town Supervisor – April 2021; and
6) Water/Sewer Department – May 2021; and
7) Fire & Safety Inspector, CEO Desiree Campbell – May 2021.
All voting aye, the motion was carried.
Councilman Guido made a motion, seconded by Councilman Testa, to receive and file the
Site Management Plan for the former South Hill Dump as prepared by CHA, dated June 2021. All
voting aye, the motion was carried.
Under old business, Supervisor Williams requested the Board receive and file the
comments submitted regarding the Draft Comprehensive Plan.
Councilman Withey made a motion, seconded by Councilman Testa to receive and file
comments regarding the Draft Comprehensive Plan as submitted by Peter Morse-Ackley, dated
June 14, 2021, and by Bob Martin, dated June 16, 2021. All voting aye, the motion was carried.
JUNE 16, 2021 TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 3
[Comments were also submitted and read into the record by Tricia Roiger, dated June 16, 2021
and by Pamela Jenkins, received June 17, 2021 via email.]
Under new business, Town Clerk Rocco-Petrella reported that she was in receipt of the
contract between Thoma Development Consultants and the Town for Program Delivery and
Administrative Services relating to the 2021 CDBG Economic Development Grant awarded to the
Town on behalf of Seven Valley Specialty Cable. Attorney DelVecchio reviewed the contract as
to form, and it was also submitted to NYS Office of Community Renewal (NYS OCR) for
approval. One change was made to the contract per NYS OCR relating to the proper citation of
the law. Town Clerk Rocco-Petrella asked the Board to approve the contract and authorize the
Supervisor to sign it.
RESOLUTION #177 AUTHORIZE SUPERVISOR TO SIGN CONTRACT WITH
THOMA DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANTS FOR PROGRAM
DELIVERY AND ADMINISTRATION SERVICES FOR THE
2021 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT (CDBG #287ED967-21)
Motion by Councilman Cobb
Seconded by Councilman Guido
VOTES: AYE – Williams, Cobb, Guido, Testa, Withey NAY – 0
ADOPTED
BE IT RESOLVED, the Town Board does hereby authorize and direct the Supervisor to sign the
contract with Thoma Development Consultants for Program Delivery and Administrative Services
for the 2021 Economic Development Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) awarded to
the Town of Cortlandville on behalf of Seven Valley Specialty Cables LLC (NYS CDBG Project
#287ED967-21), in the amount of $3,000 for Program Delivery Services and $6,500 for
Administrative Services, for the total amount of $9,500.
Under new business item I-8, and in addition to authorizing the Supervisor to sign the
required paperwork for the CDBG, Town Clerk Rocco-Petrella asked the Board to adopt a
resolution “designating the Community Development Block Grant Environmental Certifying
Officer” as Supervisor Williams. The Board would take action later in the meeting.
Town Clerk Rocco-Petrella reported that she settled with the County Treasurer earlier in
the week. Approximately 95% of the $12.8 million warrant was collected. She thanked her staff
for their hard work during tax season.
Finally, Town Clerk Rocco-Petrella explained that the Utility Moratorium previously
signed into law by the Governor in 2020 was extended on May 11, 2021 through December 31,
2021. She would provide the Board with more information at the next meeting regarding any
required action.
Attorney DelVecchio Reported:
Solar Committee:
Attorney DelVecchio reported that the Solar Committee has met three times and were close
to 80% through in agreeing to proposed changes. The committee would meet again in early July
and hoped to present the proposed amendments to the Board in August. He stated, “good
discussions are occurring”. The backgrounds/expertise of the Committee members is notable.
Siemen’s Smart Infrastructure – LED Streetlight Project:
Regarding the Town’s LED Streetlight Project, Attorney DelVecchio apprised the Board
that the Public Service Commission authorized the purchase of the streetlights and the
Town/Siemen’s could move forward with the next phase of the process for financing. He suspected
the transaction involving financing to occur in September. Attorney DelVecchio arranged for
Siemen’s to complete 10 installations of the new LED lights around Town Hall first, giving the
Town the opportunity to address any safety concerns.
JUNE 16, 2021 TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 4
Local Law for Extension of Term Lengths:
Attorney DelVecchio recalled that at the last Town Board meeting, the Board agreed to
move forward with the process to extend the term lengths from two to four years for the elected
Town Supervisor, Town Clerk and Highway Superintendent. The Board agreed with the process
of “Option B” as presented, which would entail drafting a local law, conducting a public hearing,
adopting the local law subject to mandatory referendum to be voted on by the electors of the Town
at the November 2021 biennial election. If the voters agree to extend the term lengths to four
years, the local law will become effective (upon filing with the State) and the changes would take
place immediately for the terms commencing January 1, 2022.
Attorney DelVecchio drafted the proposed Local Law as directed and requested the Board
acknowledge receipt and schedule a public hearing for July 7, 2021 at 5:00 p.m.
RESOLUTION #178 ACKNOWLEDGE RECEIPT OF A PROPOSED LOCAL LAW
OF 2021 – A LOCAL LAW INCREASING THE TERM OF
OFFICE FROM TWO YEARS TO FOUR YEARS FOR THE
TOWN SUPERVISOR, TOWN CLERK AND TOWN HIGHWAY
SUPERINTENDENT OF THE TOWN OF CORTLANDVILLE
AND SCHEDULE A PUBLIC HEARING FOR JULY 7, 2021 AT
5:00 P.M.
Motion by Councilman Testa
Seconded by Councilman Guido
VOTES: AYE – Williams, Cobb, Guido, Testa, Withey NAY – 0
ADOPTED
BE IT RESOLVED, the Town Board does hereby acknowledge receipt of a proposed Local Law
of 2021, “A Local Law Increasing the Term of Office from Two Years to Four Years for the Town
Supervisor, Town Clerk and Town Highway Superintendent of the Town of Cortlandville, as
prepared by the Town Attorney, and it is further
RESOLVED, a Public Hearing is hereby scheduled for July 7, 2021 at 5:00 p.m. to be held at the
Town of Cortlandville Municipal Garage, 3587 Terrace Road, Cortland, New York concerning the
proposed Local Law.
Marijuana Legislation - Opting-In or Opting-Out:
Attorney DelVecchio informed the Board that the State Legislature legalized the
recreational use of marijuana or cannabis. Municipalities have the option to either allow or prohibit
cannabis retail licenses or onsite consumption licenses; the Board can opt-in to allow or opt-out to
prohibit. If the Town chooses to opt-out of allowing dispensaries or onsite consumption it must
do so by December 31, 2021. If the Board does not take action to opt-out, it automatically opts in.
He explained the procedure to opt-out, which included drafting a local law, conducting a
public hearing, and adopting the local law subject to referendum in which 10% of the voters from
the last gubernatorial election must petition the Town. Attorney DelVecchio mentioned that he
drafted a proposed local law for the Board’s consideration to opt-out. He stated that the Board did
not have to decide tonight, but that discussion should occur if not now, then soon. He added, if
the Board chose to opt-out now they could later opt back in. However, the Town could not do the
reverse; once the municipality opts in it can not opt out.
Supervisor Williams informed the Board that he asked the Town Clerk and her staff to
inquire with other municipalities as to what action they were taking. Som e municipalities were
not aware of the new law or procedure, while others were either leaning towards opting out or
opting in.
Councilman Guido stated he would like time to research the matter before deciding. He
noted that in California, because the tax was set so high, dispensaries are going out of business.
Discussion occurred amongst the Board. It was mentioned that if the Town opts-out, the Town
will not receive any of the sales tax associated with the sale of marijuana. The Board agreed to
move the topic to the next meeting agenda for further discussion.
Town Board reports:
Councilman Withey reminded the Board that a year ago he met with the City of Cortland
regarding the tub grinder at the DPW which was in dire need of replacement. The equipment was
not working now and with the budget approaching, Councilman Withey stated it was a good time
JUNE 16, 2021 TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 5
to bring the matter back up for discussion. He stated he would be glad to work with Highway
Sup’t. Drach to secure prices on new equipment.
Highway Sup’t. Drach explained that the equipment is co-owned between the City, Town,
and Villages, with the City being the majority owner. He agreed that the equipment should be
replaced, however the estimated cost of a new tub grinder was $300,000. He informed the Board
that a tub grinder was being rented at a cost of $3,400.00 per week to the Town. Highway Sup’t.
Drach explained the importance of the equipment, which is used daily, and stated he would
investigate options for replacing it.
RESOLUTION #179 AUTHORIZE HIGHWAY SUPERINTENDENT TO RENT A
TUB GRINDER WITH THE CITY OF CORTLAND
Motion by Councilman Withey
Seconded by Councilman Testa
VOTES: AYE – Williams, Cobb, Guido, Testa, Withey NAY – 0
ADOPTED
BE IT RESOLVED, the Town Board does hereby authorize the Highway Superintendent to rent a
tub grinder with the City of Cortland at a cost to the Town of $3,400.00 per week to be used at the
Cortland City DPW located on Franklin Street in the City of Cortland while the shared equipment
owned by the City, Town and Villages is being repaired.
Supervisor Williams reported:
American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Funds:
Supervisor Williams apprised the Board he received communication from New York State,
Division of the Budget regarding the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). New York State is
required by ARPA to distribute Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Funds to Non-Entitlement
Units (NEUs) on behalf of the United States Department of Treasury. The Town of Cortlandville
was identified as an NEU. Per the Department of Treasury, local governments will receive funds
in two, 50 percent payments, the second 12 months after the first. Prior to distributing funds to
NEUs, New York State is required to collect certain information from each NEU. Supervisor
Williams explained that the Town must select one of the town options: Option A: Decline Funding;
Option B: Request Funding. The Town must complete the necessary form by July 9, 2021.
Supervisor Williams asked for Board authorization to select Option B for the Town to request
funding.
RESOLUTION #180 AUTHORIZE THE TOWN SUPERVISOR TO SELECT
“OPTION B: REQUEST FUNDING” FOR THE TOWN OF
CORTLANDVILLE AS IT RELATES TO THE AMERICAN
RESCUE PLAN ACT (ARPA) AND THE DISTRIBUTION OF
CORONAVIRUS LOCAL FISCAL RECOVERY FUNDS TO
NON-ENTITLEMENT UNITS (NEUs)
Motion by Councilman Cobb
Seconded by Councilman Withey
VOTES: AYE – Williams, Cobb, Guido, Testa, Withey NAY – 0
ADOPTED
BE IT RESOLVED, the Town Board does hereby authorize and direct the Town Supervisor to
select “Option B: Request Funding” as it relates to the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and the
distribution of Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Funds to Non-Entitlement Units (NEUs), and
further directs him to complete the required forms no later than July 9, 2021.
Request for Flashing Stop Sign:
Supervisor Williams apprised the Board he received a request from a Town resident to
consider installing a flashing stop sign in a local neighborhood. One of the concerns the Town
had was that installing such stop signs, which were costly, would cause a chain reaction.
Supervisor Williams referred the matter to Highway Sup’t. Drach to investigate and report back to
the Board. It was suggested that criteria be established for where flashing stop signs were
appropriate.
JUNE 16, 2021 TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 6
2020 Emergency Loan to Cortlandville Fire Department:
Supervisor Williams explained that the Cortlandville Fire Department (CVFD) expected
to receive its previously awarded grant funds from the State soon for the live fire training building.
He recalled that the Town provided an emergency loan to CVFD in December 2020. The interest
rate, as suggested by the Town’s auditor was 0.02% or approximately $60.00 for the year. Upon
receipt of the funds, the CVFD would re-pay the Town with interest (pro-rated).
At this time in the meeting, the Board proceeded with new business items.
RESOLUTION #181 ACKNOWLEDGE THE TOWN’S “EXTENSION REQUEST” TO
NEW YORK STATE HOMES & COMMUNITY RENEWAL
REGARDING THE 2019 TOWN-WIDE HOUSING
REHABILITATION GRANT (CDBG #287HR323-19)
Motion by Councilman Guido
Seconded by Councilman Testa
VOTES: AYE – Williams, Cobb, Guido, Testa, Withey NAY – 0
ADOPTED
BE IT RESOLVED, the Town Board does hereby acknowledge the Town’s “Extension Request”
to New York State Homes & Community Renewal regarding the 2019 Town-Wide Housing
Rehabilitation Grant (CDBG #287HR323-19), requesting an extension until August 31, 2021 to
allow contractors time to complete work currently underway.
RESOLUTION #182 AUTHORIZE APPROVAL OF PAYMENTS REGARDING THE
TOWN-WIDE HOUSING REHABILITATION GRANT
PROGRAM CDBG #287HR323-19
Motion by Councilman Cobb
Seconded by Councilman Testa
VOTES: AYE – Williams, Cobb, Guido, Testa, Withey NAY – 0
ADOPTED
BE IT RESOLVED the Town Board does hereby authorize approval of payment for the following
regarding the Town-Wide Housing Rehabilitation Grant Program-CDBG #287HR323-19:
GT Contracting – $10,912.00 (Henriques)
DFW Plumbing, Heating and AC - $3,500.00 (McNeal)
Town of Cortlandville - $50.00 (Building Permit – Recor)
Town of Cortlandville - $50.00 (Building Permit – Griffith)
Thoma Development - $3,700.00 (Program Delivery - Contract)
Thoma Development - $1,150.00 (Administration – Contract)
RESOLUTION #183 ACKNOWLEDGE RECEIPT OF A PROPOSED LOCAL LAW
OF 2021 – A LOCAL LAW AMENDING THE TOWN OF
CORTLANDVILLE’S ZONING CODE TO FURTHER
SAFEGUARD THE EXISTING WELLHEAD PROTECTION
AREAS WITHIN THE TOWN OF CORTLANDVILLE’S
AQUIFER PROTECTION DISTRICT AND SCHEDULE A
PUBLIC HEARING FOR JULY 7, 2021 AT 5:00 P.M.
Motion by Councilman Cobb
Seconded by Councilman Withey
VOTES: AYE – Williams, Cobb, Guido, Testa, Withey NAY – 0
ADOPTED
BE IT RESOLVED, the Town Board does hereby acknowledge receipt of a proposed Local Law
of 2021, “A Local Law Amending the Town of Cortlandville’s Zoning Code to Further Safeguard
the Existing Wellhead Protection Areas Within the Town of Cortlandville’s Aquifer Protection
District”, as prepared by the Town Attorney, and it is further
JUNE 16, 2021 TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 7
RESOLVED, the proposed Local Law shall be forwarded to the Town and County Planning
Boards for their review and recommendations, and it is further
RESOLVED, a Public Hearing is hereby scheduled for July 7, 2021 at 5:00 p.m. to be held at the
Town of Cortlandville Municipal Garage, 3587 Terrace Road, Cortland, New York concerning the
proposed Local Law.
Councilman Testa made a motion, seconded by Councilman Guido, to receive and file the
correspondence from Parkitects, Inc., dated June 9, 2021 regarding the inspection of the new
playground at the Gutchess Lumber Sports Complex, as well as the Summary Report containing
the key findings of the audit of inspection. All voting aye, the motion was carried.
Supervisor Williams explained that Parkitects designed the playground at the Gutchess
Lumber Sports Complex. Part of the contract was to make sure it was safe after installation and
that it was in compliance, which it was. Councilman Guido commented that he was at GLSC over
the weekend and noticed the playground being used. Councilman Withey asked how often
playgrounds must be inspected. Part-time Recreation Director, John McNerney was in attendance
and answered that playgrounds should be inspected often by employees and several times per
month. He would provide more information to Highway Sup’t. Drach.
RESOLUTION #184 DESIGNATE THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK
GRANT ENVIRONMENTAL CERTIFYING OFFICER FOR
THE TOWN OF CORTLANDVILLE (CDBG #287ED967-21)
Motion by Councilman Withey
Seconded by Councilman Guido
VOTES: AYE – Williams, Cobb, Guido, Testa, Withey NAY – 0
ADOPTED
WHEREAS, the Town of Cortlandville was awarded a Community Development Block Grant
from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development through the New York State Office
of Community Renewal, as administered by the State of New York;
WHEREAS, the Town of Cortlandville is required to designate an environmental certifying officer
for the purpose of signing required environmental documents pertaining to this CDBG award; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Supervisor of the Town of Cortlandvil le be
hereby designated as the Town’s environmental certifying officer for the purpose of signing
correspondence and other required documents and forms.
RESOLUTION #185 AUTHORIZE SUPERVISOR TO SIGN DOCUMENTATION
REGARDING THE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW FOR THE
TOWN’S 2021 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT (CDBG #287ED967-21)
Motion by Councilman Withey
Seconded by Councilman Guido
VOTES: AYE – Williams, Cobb, Guido, Testa, Withey NAY – 0
ADOPTED
BE IT RESOLVED, the Town Board does hereby authorize and direct the Supervisor to sign the
required documentation regarding the environmental review for the Town’s 2021 Economic
Development Community Development Block Grant (CDBG #287ED967-21).
There was a brief discussion regarding the submission of the Project Narrative by Regan
Development Corporation. The project would entail six buildings: two mix use
(commercial/multi-family) in a four-story building, totaling 144 multi-family apartment units with
12,400 sf of commercial space in between the two buildings. Attorney DelVecchio explained
that applications have not been submitted to Planning and Zoning Officer Weber, however the
project would require a Variance, Site Plan and Aquifer Protection Permit approvals. He explained
that prior to action on a Variance by the Zoning Board of Appeals, SEQR must be conducted.
Customarily, the Town Board acts as lead agency. He explained that discussion would be had
JUNE 16, 2021 TOWN BOARD MEETING PAGE 8
regarding lead agency designation and suggested that the Town Board may want to act as lead
agency due to the magnitude of the project. Attorney DelVecchio indicated that he would
recommend the Board hire an expert to assist with SEQR, at a cost to the project applicant, as
allowed per the SEQR statute. The Board would discuss the matter at a future date.
Councilman Withey made a motion, seconded by Councilman Guido, to receive and file
the Project Narrative submitted by Regan Development Corporation for property located off NYS
Route 13, tax map #95.00-10-11.100, to construct a mixed use commercial and multi-family
project. All voting aye, the motion was carried.
No further comments or discussion was heard. Supervisor Williams requested the Board
convene to an Executive Session.
Councilman Guido made a motion, seconded by Councilman Cobb, to recess the Regular
Meeting to an Executive Session to discuss a contract and litigation. All voting aye, the motion
was carried.
The meeting was recessed at 6:57 p.m.
Councilman Cobb made a motion, seconded by Councilman Withey, to adjourn the
Executive Session and reconvene the Regular Meeting. All voting aye the motion was carried.
The Executive Session was adjourned at 7:40 p.m.
Members of the public were invited back into the meeting.
No further comments or discussion were heard.
Councilman Cobb made a motion, seconded by Councilman Withey, to adjourn the
Regular Meeting. All voting aye, the motion was carried.
The meeting was adjourned at 7:40 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Kristin E. Rocco-Petrella, RMC
Town Clerk
Town of Cortlandville
*Note:
The draft version of this meeting was submitted to the Town Board for their review on June 24, 2021.
The final version of this meeting was approved as written at the Town Board meeting of July 7, 2021.